It’s time the standard of proof in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) was lowered from Beyond Reasonable Doubt to Balance of Probabilities, according to a senior solicitor.
Unusually when compared to other professional disciplinary tribunals, allegations against solicitors must be proved to the criminal standard.
‘One of the few exceptions, the Bar Standards Board, has already announced that it will be abandoning the criminal standard of proof in 2019,’ writes John Gould, senior partner at Russell-Cooke, in NLJ this week.
‘The only other exception, I believe, is The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons which applies what it describes as the highest civil standard “so as to be sure” that the charge is proved.’
Gould asks whether it can be right that some solicitors still in practice have been adjudged as probably dishonest.
Last month, the SDT announced in its annual report that it will launch a consultation later this year on whether the burden of proof for misconduct cases should be lowered to the civil standard.
