General Medical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 1970
| Year | 1970 |
1970 No. 596
MEDICAL PROFESSION
The General Medical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 197020thApril 1970
24thApril 1970
27thApril 1970
At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 20th day of April 1970
By the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council
Whereas in pursuance of section 37(1) of the Medical Act 1956(a) as amended by section 13 of the Medical Act 1969(b) the Disciplinary Committee of the General Medical Council have made the General Medical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules 1970:
And whereas by subsection (3) of the said section 37 such Rules shall not come into force until approved by Order of the Privy Council:
Now, therefore, Their Lordships, having taken the said Rules into consideration, are pleased to approve the same as set out in the Appendix to this Order.
This Order may be cited as the General Medical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules Order of Council 1970, and shall come into operation on 27th April 1970.
N. E. Leigh.
(a) 1956 c. 76.
(b) 1969 c. 40.
APPENDIX
THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE (PROCEDURE) RULES 1970
In pursuance of section 37(1) of the Medical Act 1956, as amended by section 13 of the Medical Act 1969, the Disciplinary Committee of the General Medical Council hereby make the following Rules:—
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and Interpretation
1. These Rules may be cited as the General Medical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules 1970.
2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
"the Act" means the Medical Act 1956 as amended by the Medical Act 1969;
"the Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee;
"the Council" means the General Medical Council;
"the President" means the President of the Council;
"the Registrar" means the Registrar of the Council;
"the Legal Assessor" means an Assessor appointed by the Council for the purposes of section 38 of the Act;
"the Solicitor" means any Solicitor, or any member of a firm of Solicitors, appointed by the Council;
"the Register", in relation to fully or provisionally registered persons, means the Register of Medical Practitioners, and in relation to temporarily registered persons, means the Register of Temporarily Registered Medical Practitioners;
"practitioner" means a person registered (in any way) under the Medical Acts, and (subject to the provisions of Rule 33) references to the practitioner, in relation to any complaint, information or proceedings, are references to the practitioner against whom a conviction has been alleged, or whose conduct has been called into question, as the case may be;
"case relating to conviction" means a case where it is alleged that a practitioner has been convicted, whether while so registered or not, in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland or any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man of a criminal offence;
"case relating to conduct" means a case where a question arises whether conduct of a practitioner constitutes serious professional misconduct;
"complainant" means a body or person by whom a complaint has been made to the Council;
"party", in relation to proceedings before the Committee, means any person to whose registration the proceedings relate, or any person on whose complaint the proceedings are brought, or the Solicitor to the Council;
"person acting in a public capacity" means an officer of a Government department or local or public authority or of any of the constituent bodies entitled to choose a member of the Council, acting as such, or any person holding judicial office, or any officer attached to a Court, or the Solicitor.
(2) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply in relation to these Rules as it applies in relation to an Act of Parliament.
3. The provisions of the First Schedule to these Rules shall have effect as to the constitution and meetings of the Penal Cases Committee, and as to meetings of the Disciplinary Committee.
(a) 1889 c. 63.
PART II
PROCEEDINGS IN CASES RELATING TO CONVICTION AND CASES RELATING TO CONDUCT: SECTION 33 OF THE ACT
Submission of Complaints or Information: Formulation of Charges
4. The functions of the Disciplinary Committee under section 33 of the Act shall be exercised in accordance with the following provisions:—
(a) No direction shall be given under subsection (1) or (1A) of that section except in consequence of an inquiry held in accordance with the provisions of this Part of these Rules into a charge or charges formulated in a Notice of Inquiry sent in accordance with the said provisions to the person against whom the charge or charges is or are made.
(b) Before the formulation of any such charge, the matters out of which it arises must have been considered by the Penal Cases Committee and referred by them to the Disciplinary Committee for inquiry.
5.—(1) Where a complaint in writing, or information in writing, is received by the Registrar from any body or person, and it appears to him—
(a) that a practitioner has been convicted in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland or any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man of a criminal offence, and the conviction is not of a description excepted from the operation of this paragraph by or under a direction of the Penal Cases Committee, or
(b) that a question arises whether conduct of a practitioner constitutes serious professional misconduct,
the Registrar shall submit the matter to the President:
Provided that in a case relating to conduct, unless the complaint or information has been received from a person acting in a public capacity, the matter shall not proceed further unless and until there has been furnished to the satisfaction of the President one or more statutory declarations in support thereof; and every such statutory declaration shall state the address and description of the declarant and the grounds for his belief in the truth of any fact declared which is not within his personal knowledge.
(2) In a case relating to conduct the President, unless it appears to him that the matter need not proceed further, shall direct the Registrar to write to the practitioner—
(a) notifying him of the receipt of a complaint or information, and stating the matters which appear to raise a question whether the practitioner has committed serious professional misconduct;
(b) forwarding a copy of any statutory declaration furnished under paragraph (1) of this Rule;
(c) informing the practitioner of the date of the next meeting of the Penal Cases Committee; and
(d) inviting the practitioner to submit to the Council any explanation which he may have to offer.
(3) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Rule, the President may direct the Registrar to refer the case to the Penal Cases Committee, together with any statutory declaration or explanation furnished under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Rule.
6.—(1) Where a case relating to conviction or a case relating to conduct has been referred to the Penal Cases Committee, that Committee shall, having regard to any statutory declaration or explanation furnished as aforesaid, consider the case and, subject to the provisions of this Rule, determine either—
(a) that no inquiry shall be held in the case by the Disciplinary Committee, or
(b) that the matter in question shall, in whole or in part, be referred to the Disciplinary Committee for inquiry either at the next meeting of that Committee or at such future meeting as the Penal Cases Committee or the President may determine.
(2) Where the Penal Cases Committee determine that no inquiry shall be held in a case relating to conduct, the Registrar shall inform the practitioner and the complainant (if any) of the decision of that Committee in such terms respectively as that Committee may direct.
(3) Before coming to a determination the Penal Cases Committee may if they think fit cause to be made such further investigations, or obtain such advice or assistance from the Solicitor or Counsel instructed by him, as they may consider requisite.
(4) Where the Penal Cases Committee are of opinion that such further investigations as aforesaid are desirable, or where at the time when that Committee are considering a case relating to conduct no explanation has yet been received from the practitioner, the Penal Cases Committee may if they think fit make a provisional determination that the matter in question shall in whole or in part be referred to the Disciplinary Committee as mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this Rule, and where they make such a determination—
(a) the President may, after causing those members of the Penal Cases Committee who made such determination to be informed of the result of the further investigations or to be supplied with copies of any explanation subsequently furnished by the practitioner, and after consultation with such members of that Committee, and in accordance with the opinions of those members or the majority of their opinions (including his own opinion), direct either that no inquiry shall be held or that the matter shall be referred as aforesaid;
(b) where the opinions of the members of the Penal Cases Committee are equally divided the question shall be deemed to have been resolved in favour of the practitioner, and the President shall direct that no inquiry shall be held;
(c) if the President directs that no inquiry shall be held, the Registrar shall notify the members of the Penal Cases Committee, and in a case relating to conduct shall inform the practitioner and the complainant (if any) in such terms respectively as the President may direct.
7. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of these Rules, where in a case relating to conviction the President or the Penal Cases Committee has or have determined that no inquiry shall be held, and the Council subsequently receives information or a complaint as to another conviction or as to the conduct of the same practitioner, the President may direct that the former...
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