Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

Complaints and discipline - Procedure

240: Restrictions on publication

You could also call this:

"Rules about what information can be shared with the public"

Illustration for Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

The Disciplinary Tribunal can stop people from publishing certain information. You might not be allowed to share reports or documents from a hearing. The Tribunal can also stop you from sharing someone's name or personal details. If the Tribunal makes an order, it stays in place until a certain time or until it is revoked. You can appeal to the High Court under section 253 if you do not agree with the order. The Tribunal's decision can be changed or reversed by the High Court. Some people are allowed to share information even if there is an order in place. This includes the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers. They can share information with each other and with certain officers and employees. You can also publish a notice in the Gazette under section 256. The Disciplinary Tribunal has special rules for making orders before a hearing starts. They need a minimum of three members to make or revoke an order. This is different from the usual rules under section 235(1). The Tribunal follows section 235(5) instead.

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239B: Online publication of final written decisions, or

"The law says final decisions about lawyers must be published online."

240A: Disciplinary Tribunal may strike out, determine, or adjourn proceeding, or

"The Disciplinary Tribunal can stop, decide, or delay a case if needed."

Part 7Complaints and discipline
Procedure

240Restrictions on publication

If the Disciplinary Tribunal is of the opinion that it is proper to do so, having regard to the interest of any person (including (without limitation) the privacy of the complainant (if any)) and to the public interest, it may make any 1 or more of the following orders:
an order prohibiting the publication of any report or account of any part of any proceedings before it, whether held in public or in private:
an order prohibiting the publication of the whole or any part of any books, papers, or documents produced at any hearing:
an order prohibiting the publication of the name or any particulars of the affairs of the person charged or any other person.

Unless it is reversed or modified in respect of its currency by the High Court on appeal under section 253, an order made under subsection (1) continues in force until such time as may be specified in the order, or, if no time is specified, until the Disciplinary Tribunal, in its discretion, revokes it on the application of any party to the proceedings in which the order was made or any other person.
Subsections (1)(c) and (2) are subject to subsection (4).
Subsection (1)(c) does not apply to, or in respect of,—
any communications by or between any or all of the following:
1. the Council of the New Zealand Law Society:
2. the Council of the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers:
3. an officer of either of the societies specified in subparagraphs (i) and (ii):
4. an employee of either of the societies specified in subparagraphs (i) and (ii):
5. a Standards Committee:
6. an employee of a Standards Committee:
7. the Legal Complaints Review Officer:
8. the Disciplinary Tribunal:
the publication pursuant to section 256 of a notice in the Gazette.

For the purposes of exercising the Disciplinary Tribunal's powers under subsections (1)(c) and (2) to make or revoke, before the start of the hearing of the charge, an order prohibiting the publication of the name or any particulars of the affairs of the person charged or any other person, the quorum at any sitting of the Disciplinary Tribunal or a division of the Disciplinary Tribunal is, despite section 235(1), the 3-member quorum specified in section 235(5).

Compare

1982 No 123 s 111(2)(b)–(d), (3), (6)

Notes

Section 240(1)(c): amended, on 20 November 2012, by section 16(1) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 92).
Section 240(2A): inserted, on 20 November 2012, by section 16(2) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 92).
Section 240(4): inserted, on 20 November 2012, by section 16(3) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 92).