Making a Complaint
It is the duty of the Bar Council to receive a complaint of professional misconduct from any person made in respect of the conduct of any attorney.
The Bar Council shall within 14 days of receiving a complaint determine whether there are reasonable grounds for the making of the complaint. Where the Bar Council determines that there are reasonable grounds for the making of a complaint, it will within 14 days of the determination appoint an independent attorney to inquire into the complaint, otherwise it shall summarily dismiss the complaint. The appointed independent attorney shall within 14 days of his or her appointment report to the Bar Council with his or her opinion on the matter. If the opinion of the independent attorney is that the complaint discloses a prima facie case of professional misconduct then the Bar Council shall, within 7 days of receiving the report, refer the matter to the Chief Justice for disciplinary action and the Bar Council shall appoint an attorney to represent it at that disciplinary hearing (s. 24 Legal Profession Ordinance CAP 2.10).
The Chief Justice shall hear any complaint of professional misconduct against an attorney brought by the Bar Council. Where the Chief Justice, after hearing the complaint, finds the attorney guilty of professional misconduct, the Chief Justice may (s. 25 Legal Profession Ordinance CAP 2.10):
- reprimand the attorney;
- impose a fine not exceeding $20,000 on the attorney;
- suspend the attorney from practice for such period not exceeding three years; or
- disbar the attorney.
The Chief Justice may also, in any event, order the Attorney to pay the costs of the disciplinary hearing.
A complaint against an attorney shall not be brought more than six years after the date of the occurrence of the facts giving rise to the complaint or the date of knowledge of the facts giving rise to the complaint.
An attorney aggrieved by a decision of the Chief Justice in respect of a complaint of professional misconduct may appeal against the decision to the Court of Appeal within 21 days of being notified of the decision. Part II of the Court of Appeal Ordinance CAP 2.01 applies to the conduct of an appeal by an attorney against a decision in respect of professional misconduct as if the matter in respect of which the appeal is brought were a judgment or order of the Supreme Court (s. 28 Legal Profession Ordinance CAP 2.10).
A complaint form is here:
DOWNLOAD TCI BAR ASSOCIATION COMPLAINT FROM (FILLABLE) PG 1
Download TCI Bar Association Complaint Form Information Sheet PG 2