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Appeals

Appeals from substantive decisions of the Tribunal are made to the Administrative Court.

All SDT decisions are subject to a right of appeal to the Administrative Court. The time limit for lodging an appeal is 21 days from when the Tribunal’s written Judgment is provided to the parties.

Please refer to the Tribunal’s Guidance Note on Appeals for further information about bringing an appeal before the Tribunal

When making an Appeal to the Administrative Court

  1. You must tell the Chair of the Tribunal from whose decision the appeal is brought that you are appealing against the decision (see Civil Procedure Rules Rule 52 and Practice Direction 52D, paragraph 3.4).
  2. You must send your Appellant’s notice marked for the attention of the Chair of the Tribunal who heard your case to the SDT by email to enquiries@solicitorsdt.com

For further information on how to appeal please contact the Administrative Court Office, The Royal Courts of Justice – 0207 947 6000.

Types of Appeals

Please select an option from the list below for further details.

Substantive Decisions of the Tribunal

Appeals from substantive decisions of the Tribunal are made to the Administrative Court. As from 1 October 2013, the time limit for lodging an appeal is 21 days from  when the Tribunal’s written Judgment is provided to the parties –  see Civil Procedure Rules Rule 52 and Practice Direction 52D.

The Tribunal is not a party to appeals from its substantive decisions.

Please note the requirement of Practice Direction 52d, paragraph 3.4, which specifies that the Appellant to an appeal against a decision of the Tribunal must serve the Appellant’s Notice on the Respondent and the Chair of the Tribunal from whose decision the appeal is brought. The Appellant’s Notice must be sent to the Tribunal by email, marked for the attention of the Chair.

Decisions of The Law Society to the Tribunal

The Tribunal has power to hear and determine appeals made to it under section 44E of the Solicitors Act 1974 (as amended) and paragraph 14C of Schedule 2 to the Administration of Justice Act 1985 in relation to certain decisions made by The Law Society.  Please refer to the relevant Acts for full details.

How to bring an appeal before the Tribunal

Before starting an appeal, we ask that you consider the Rules carefully.

The Rules set out:

    • Time limits for appeals

    • How appeals panels will be constituted

    • The procedure to be followed

    • Rules of evidence

    • Other miscellaneous matters

Read The Rules here: Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2019 

Please refer to the Guidance Note on Appeals (5th Edition) for further information about bringing an appeal before the Tribunal. This Guidance Note applies to cases heard from 25 November 2019.

Added guidance

    • Some minor amendments to the Appeals Rules were made by Rule 49 of the Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2019 and these changes are reflected in this version of the Appeals Rules.

Alternative Business Structures

Appeals in respect of Decisions of The Law Society under Part 5 of the Legal Services Act 2007

The Tribunal’s power to hear and determine appeals

The Tribunal has power to hear and determine appeals made to it under section 46 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (as amended) as applied by Article 4(3) of the Legal Services Act 2007 (Appeals from Licensing Authority Decisions (No. 2) Order 2011) in respect of decisions of the Law Society under Part 5 of the Legal Services Act 2007 and licensing rules made by the Society.

 

 

Appeal Rules

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (Appeals and Amendment) Rules 2011 (the “Appeal Rules”) – in force from 01.10.2011

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (Appeals and Amendment) Rules 2011 Correction Slip

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (Appeals) (Amendment) Rules 2011 – extension of the SDT (Appeals and Amendment) Rules 2011 – came into force 23.12.2011.

Solicitors Disciplinary Proceedings Rules 2019 – Rule 49 – Further amendments to the 2011 “Appeal Rules”.

 

FAQs

Frequently asked questions relating to appeals.