Review or appeal a decision | Solicitors Complaints Committee Northern Ireland

If we have registered your complaint for investigation and have made a decision (known as a determination) upon hearing your complaint, and you disagree with the outcome, there is a limited opportunity to request a review of our decision.

You cannot request a review where your complaint has not been registered and determined upon.

Request a review

: A review request must be made within 10 working days of us issuing our written determination to you.
: A determination may only be reviewed on the following grounds:

(a) that there is new evidence that could not reasonably have been considered by the Committee at the original hearing which could have materially affected the determination of the Committee; or

(b) that the determination was wrongly made as a result of an administrative error.
: You must inform us of your request for a review by submitting a review application in writing setting out the grounds for review along with any supporting evidence.
Once we receive a review application, we will notify the other interested parties who had received a copy of our determination (the complainant, solicitor, firm, Law Society and Legal Services Oversight Commissioner). They will then be given the opportunity to make representations on the review application before we consider the matter further.
Upon receipt of representations from interested parties, we will review our determination and will inform you of the date this review will take place.
Once we have reviewed our decision, all interested parties will receive a copy of our final determination. If any party is dissatisfied with the final determination, there is no further opportunity for review, other than by appeal to the High Court.
There is no cost for requesting a review application, however if we determine that your review request is frivolous or vexatious, we may direct that costs be awarded against you for the time spent in considering your request.

Lodge an appeal

Appealing a determination of the Committee is a Court process before the High Court of Judicature in Northern Ireland and the processes required are contained within the Rules of the Court of Judicature.

: There are strict time-limits for appealing a decision to the High Court. Any appeal must be lodged with the Court, and a copy served on the Solicitor Complaints Committee, the Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Legal Services Oversight Commissioner by way of notice within 21 days of receiving our final determination.
: You can find the forms required to make an appeal on the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service website here: Appeals Forms | Department of Justice
: Generally, grounds of appeal are divided into two areas:
1. Error of law
2. Serious procedural irregularity

You should identify what the ground of appeal you are seeking to rely upon when lodging your application with the Court. This is a complex area of law and you may wish to obtain independent legal advice to assist you with this process.
: As an appeal is a Court process, the application will incur Court costs. If you obtain independent legal advice to assist you with your application, you will also have to consider the costs of this advice.
: A copy of any Order following the appeal process should be provided to all interested parties including the complainant, solicitor, firm, Solicitor Complaints Committee, the Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Legal Services Oversight Commissioner to confirm the outcome.

Need more help? Get in touch

Further Information

Learn more about us

Find out more about who we are and what we can do.

Who we are

The complaints process

Here is what to expect from the process of making a complaint.

The process

Visit our frequently asked questions

Our FAQs can help answer any questions you may have.

FAQs