Debate contribution: The draft Legal Complaints and Regulation (Penalty) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025

Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on 24 June 2025.

MLA

Mr John O'Dowd

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

24 June 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

The draft Legal Complaints and Regulation (Penalty) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5047213

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

The legal profession is crucial in upholding the rule of law, ensuring access to justice and protecting individual rights. The work of the profession ensures fairness, accountability and the proper functioning of the legal system. We must therefore ensure that there are proper mechanisms for people to raise concerns or complain in cases of poor performance. Let me put today's debate into context for Members. In December 2005, a legal services review group, chaired by Professor Sir George Bain, was established to recommend to the then Minister of Finance and Personnel how the legal profession should be regulated. The group included representatives of lawyers, voluntary organisations, the business sector, consumers and academics from the legal and economic fields. Following an extensive consultation in 2006, the group made 42 recommendations across a number of areas, leading to the Department consulting on a draft legal complaints and regulations Bill in 2013. The consultation included provisions to change the way in which complaints against lawyers are dealt with, to create new oversight arrangements for complaints handling and to make provisions for other aspects of the regulation of lawyers. The main change was the proposed introduction of an oversight arrangement for complaints against barristers in addition to solicitors. After consultation, the Bill passed Final Stage in the Assembly and received Royal Assent in April 2016. A Legal Services Oversight Commissioner, Marian Cree, was appointed in April 2017, with Marian also fulfilling the existing lay observer role of overseeing complaints against solicitors. The full provisions of the Act to provide the commissioner with the full range of powers were not commenced for a number of reasons, including the lack of an Executive and the prioritisation of resources during COVID. Work has now progressed, in collaboration with the professional bodies, the Law Society and the Bar Council, to a stage where I am glad that the Assembly can debate the three statutory rules that will give effect to the Act's provisions. The three statutory rules being debated today detail the policy on the following issues: a levy paid by the professional bodies to meet the cost of the commissioner's office; penalties that the commissioner can direct in certain circumstances; and appeals against the determination of complaints under the new system. As I noted, we have worked collaboratively to agree with the professional bodies the policy intention that underpins the statutory rules. We have also secured the agreement of the Lady Chief Justice to the appeal regulations, which allows them to be made to the High Court. The agreement ensures that we are on course to commence the Act and give effect to its full provisions from 1 September. I reassure the Assembly that the statutory rules do not change the fundamental regulatory position that relates to the legal professions, nor do they duplicate any area of regulation. The day-to-day operational regulations of solicitors will continue to be the responsibility of the Law Society, and the regulation of barristers will continue to be the responsibility of the structures of the Bar. The Department has consulted and engaged regularly with the professional bodies in the development of the statutory rules. We also engaged with the Finance Committee, the Justice Committee and, as I noted, the Lady Chief Justice before bringing the motions to the Assembly. I thank everyone involved for their positive engagement. The Department will continue its engagement as the proposed commencement date of 1 September for the Act's provisions approaches and following their commencement. That will be particularly important, as the Department will review the Act's implementation after three years, with the Act requiring that the Department bring any terms of such a review to the Assembly under the negative resolution procedure. To conclude, the draft statutory rules give effect to provisions in the Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (NI) 2016. Should the Assembly approve them, the statutory rules will come into operation on 1 September, which is when I intend to commence the provisions of the Act. That is an important and long overdue step towards providing anyone here who is dissatisfied with aspects of services provided to them by solicitors and barristers with an appropriate complaints process. The role of the Legal Services Oversight Commissioner is vital and will help ensure that that is the case, while also providing the Department and Members with reassurances about the policy objectives of the Act that the Assembly passed. I commend the draft statutory rules to the Assembly.

745 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:55 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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