General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Approval Order of Council, 1957
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1957/1265 |
| Year | 1957 |
1957 No. 1265
DENTISTS
DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE
The General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Approval Order of Council, 195717thJuly 1957
At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 17th day of July, 1957
By the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Whereas by subsection (1) of section seven and sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph ten of the First Schedule to the Dentists Act, 1956(a), provision is made for the making of rules by the General Dental Council as to the procedure to be followed and rules of evidence to be observed in proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee:
And Whereas in pursuance of the said subsection (1) and sub-paragraph (2) the General Dental Council have made the General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules, 1957, being the rules set forth in the Schedule to this Order:
And Whereas by subsection (3) of section seven and sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph ten of the First Schedule to the said Act, such rules shall not come into force until approved by Order of the Privy Council:
Now, therefore, Their Lordships, having taken the General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules, 1957, into consideration, are pleased to approve the same as set forth in the Schedule to this Order.
This Order may be cited as the General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Approval Order of Council, 1957.
W. G. Agnew.
(a) 4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 29.
SCHEDULE referred to in the foregoing Order
THE GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE (PROCEDURE) RULES, 1957
The General Dental Council established by the Dentists Act, 1956, in pursuance of section seven and sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 10 of the First Schedule to the said Act and of all other powers competent to them under the said Act hereby make the following Rules:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and Interpretation
1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the General Dental Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules, 1957.
(2) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
"the Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee;
"the Council" means the General Dental Council;
"the President" and "the Solicitor" means the person who for the time being holds the appropriate office in or in behalf of the Council;
"the Preliminary Proceedings Committee" means the Committee set up by the Council in pursuance of subsection (1) of section six of the Dentists Act, 1956, for the preliminary consideration of disciplinary cases;
"the Complainant" means the body or person by whom a complaint has been made to the Council alleging that a dentist has been convicted of a crime or been guilty of infamous or disgraceful conduct in a professional respect or giving rise to a question whether an entry in the register is fraudulent or whether such a direction as is mentioned in section twenty-four of the Dentists Act, 1956, should be given in relation to any body corporate;
"the Respondent" means any registered dentist who is alleged to be liable to have his name erased from the register or in respect of whom a question has arisen whether an entry in the register is fraudulent, or any body corporate the subject of proceedings under Part IV of these rules; and
"a Crime" means an offence which, if committed in England, would be a felony or misdemeanour.
(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889, shall apply to the interpretation of these Rules as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
PART II
DISCIPLINARY CASES AND CASES RELATING TO FRAUDULENT ENTRIES IN REGISTER
Application of Part II
2. Where in accordance with the provisions of section six of the Dentists Act, 1956, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee decide to refer to the Committee the case of a person alleged to be liable to have his name erased from the register under the second paragraph of section thirteen of the Dentists Act, 1878, or where in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen of the said Act of 1956, a question whether an entry in the register is fraudulent, is referred to the Committee, the provisions contained in this Part of these Rules shall have effect.
Notice of Inquiry
3.—(1) In a disciplinary case the Solicitor shall, as soon as may be after the case has been referred to the Committee, send to the respondent a "notice of inquiry" as nearly as may be in the form set out in Appendix "A" to these Rules specifying the matters alleged against the respondent in the form of a charge or charges, and stating the day, time and place at which the Committee will hold an inquiry into these matters, together with a copy of these Rules in a registered letter addressed to the respondent at his registered or last known address.
(2) In any case in which there is a complainant, the Solicitor shall send him a copy of the notice of inquiry and a copy of these Rules.
(3) The Committee shall not hold an inquiry unless a notice of inquiry has been served on the respondent in accordance with the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, or unless the Committee is satisfied that all practicable steps have been taken to serve the notice and that the substance of the matters alleged therein against the respondent and the likelihood of an inquiry resulting therefrom are well known to him.
(4) Except with the agreement of the respondent, the inquiry shall not be held on any day earlier than twenty-eight days after the date of posting the notice of inquiry.
Postponement or Cancellation of Inquiry
4.—(1) The President, of his own motion or upon the application of any party thereto, may postpone the hearing of an inquiry, or may refer the matter to the Preliminary Proceedings Committee for further consideration as to whether an inquiry should be held:
Provided that, where the complainant, if any, has intimated his intention of participating in the proceedings, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee shall not direct that an inquiry should not be held except with the agreement of the complainant.
(2) Where before the inquiry opens it appears to the President, or at any stage of the proceedings it appears to the Committee, that a notice of inquiry is defective, he or they shall cause the notice to be amended unless it appears that the required amendment cannot be made without injustice, or, if he or they consider that the circumstances in which an amendment is made require it, may direct that the inquiry shall be postponed or shall not be held.
(3) The Solicitor shall, as soon as may be, give to all parties to whom a notice of inquiry has been sent notification of any decision to postpone or not to hold an inquiry, informing them of the date fixed for the hearing of a postponed inquiry.
Access to Documents
5. Upon application by any party to the inquiry the Solicitor shall send to that party copies of any statutory declaration, explanation, answer, admission or other statement or communication sent to the Council by any party to the inquiry, provided that nothing in this Rule shall compel the Solicitor to produce copies of any written advice sent by himself to the Council which would be privileged from discovery in any legal proceedings to which the Council was a party.
Procedure at Inquiry
6. The procedure at any inquiry held by the Committee under section six or section fifteen of the Dentists Act, 1956, shall be that set out in the following provisions contained in this Part and in Part V of these Rules.
The Reading of the Charge
7.—(1) The charge shall be read in the presence of the parties:
Provided that if the respondent does not appear but the Committee nevertheless decide that the inquiry shall proceed the charge shall be read in his absence.
(2) As soon as the charge has been read the respondent may, if he so desires, object to the charge, or to any part of it, in point of law, and any other party may reply to any such objection; and, if any such objection is upheld, no further proceedings shall be taken on that charge or on that part of the charge.
Proof of Conviction in Disciplinary Cases
8.—(1) In cases arising out of a complaint or information from which it appears that a registered dentist has been convicted of a crime (referred to in these Rules as cases relating to conviction) the following order of proceedings shall be observed concerning proof of the convictions alleged in the charge:—
(a) The complainant, or, if no complainant appears, the Solicitor shall adduce evidence of the convictions.
(b) If no evidence is adduced concerning any particular conviction, the Chairman of the Committee shall thereupon announce that that conviction has not been proved.
(c) If the respondent appears, then the Chairman shall ask him concerning each conviction of which evidence is so adduced whether he admits the conviction; and if he admits it the Chairman shall thereupon announce that the conviction has been proved.
(2) (a) If, where the respondent appears, he does not admit all the convictions, he may then adduce evidence, concerning any conviction which he has not admitted, on the question whether he was convicted as alleged, and may address the Committee on that question:
Provided that only one address may be made...
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