The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (Fitness to Practise and Registration Appeals Committees and their Advisers Rules) Order of Council 2007

PART 5 Advisers and their advice

Functions of legal advisers

21.—(1) A legal adviser—

(a) shall be present at all meetings of the Investigating Committee at which a decision is to be taken as to whether or not to—

(i) refer a case to the Disciplinary Committee or to the Health Committee, or

(ii) notify the Registrar that the Society should consider exercising any of its powers to bring criminal proceedings;

(b) shall be present at any hearing before the Health Committee;

(c) may, at the request of the chair or the secretary, be present at any other hearing before a committee, other than a hearing before the Disciplinary Committee; and

(d) may be present at any other meetings or hearings of a committee of the Society, at the request of the Registrar or the chair of the committee.

(2) The function of the legal adviser at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to (c) shall be to ensure that proceedings before the committee are conducted fairly.

(3) The legal adviser at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph(1)(a) to (c) shall—

(a) advise the committee on questions of law that are referred to him by members of the committee;

(b) intervene to advise the committee on an issue of law where it appears to him that, without his intervention, there is the possibility of an error of law being made;

(c) inform the committee immediately of any irregularity in the conduct of proceedings before it; and

(d) at the request of the chair, advise the committee on the structure, format and presentation of the reasons for a decision of that committee.

(4) The legal adviser at a case management meeting of the Health Committee, may, at the request of the chair of the Committee, conduct as much of the meeting as the chair requests him to conduct (notwithstanding that he is not a member of the committee), and while conducting the meeting, he may—

(a) issue directions to the parties; and

(b) deliver an opinion on questions of law and admissibility of evidence.

(5) At the request of the chair, the legal adviser who is present at a meeting or hearing of a committee referred to in paragraph (1) may be present during the private deliberations of a committee, but he shall not participate in the decision making of the committee (and is not entitled to vote).

Functions of clinical advisers

22.—(1) A clinical adviser—

(a) shall be present at any meeting of the Investigating Committee at which a decision is to be taken as to whether or not to refer a case to the Health Committee;

(b) shall be present at any hearing before the Health Committee; and

(c) may be present at any meeting of, or hearing before, the Registration Appeals Committee at which the health of an applicant for registration is, or is likely to be, considered.

(2) The function of the clinical adviser who is present at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph (1) shall be to—

(a) advise the committee on any issues within his areas of medical expertise that may be referred to him by a member of that committee; and

(b) intervene to advise the committee on an issue where it appears to him that, without his intervention, there is the possibility of an error being made.

(3) At the request of the chair, the clinical adviser who is present at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph (1) may be present during the private deliberations of a committee, but he shall not participate in the decision making of the committee (and is not entitled to vote).

Functions of specialist advisers

23.—(1) A specialist adviser—

(a) may be present at any meeting of the Investigating Committee at which a decision is to be taken as to whether or not to—

(i) refer a case to the Disciplinary Committee or to the Health Committee, or

(ii) notify the Registrar that the Society should consider exercising any of its powers to bring criminal proceedings;

(b) may be present at any hearing before the Disciplinary Committee at which an allegation of deficient professional performance is to be considered;

(c) may be present at any hearing before the Health Committee; and

(d) may be present at a meeting of, or hearing before, the Registration Appeals Committee.

(2) The function of a specialist adviser at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph (1) shall be to advise the committee on issues within his areas of expertise that may be referred to him by a member of that committee.

(3) At the request of the chair, the specialist adviser who is present at a meeting or hearing referred to in paragraph (1) may be present during the private deliberations of a committee, but shall not participate in the decision making of the committee (and is not entitled to vote).

Requirement to give or repeat advice in public

24.—(1) This rule shall not apply to proceedings before the Investigating Committee.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), any advice tendered by a legal, clinical or specialist adviser at a hearing shall be tendered in the presence of every party, or person representing a party, in attendance at the hearing.

(3) Where a statutory committee has begun to deliberate on its decision and needs to obtain advice in the course of its deliberations, a legal, clinical or specialist adviser may tender advice to the committee notwithstanding the absence of the parties or any person representing a party.

(4) Where advice is tendered in the absence of the parties or their representatives in accordance with paragraph (3)—

(a) the legal, clinical or specialist adviser shall repeat the advice tendered to the committee before the parties, or any person representing a party, in attendance at the hearing; and

(b) the parties or their representatives in attendance at the hearing shall be provided with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the advice given by the legal, clinical or specialist adviser, before the committee makes its decision on the issue under consideration.

Requirement to keep records of advice and interventions

25.—(1) The secretary to a committee shall keep a record of any advice tendered to that committee (or repeated) in public by the legal, clinical or specialist adviser to that committee.

(2) The chair of a committee shall keep a record of any interventions made by the legal, clinical or specialist adviser during the private deliberations of that committee.

(3) A copy of any advice tendered by the legal, clinical or specialist adviser shall be sent to the parties to the proceedings (that is, the Society and the appellant or person concerned, as the case may be) or their representatives, as appropriate.

Refusal by a committee to accept advice

26.  Where any advice tendered by the legal, clinical or specialist adviser to a committee is not accepted by that committee—

(a) the chair of the committee shall announce the reasons for not accepting the advice tendered; and

(b) the secretary to the committee shall—

(i) keep a record of the advice tendered, and the reasons why the committee refused to accept that advice, and

(ii) send a copy of the record of the advice tendered and the reasons why the committee refused to accept that advice, to the parties to the proceedings (that is, the Society and the appellant or person concerned, as the case may be) or their representatives, as appropriate.

Questioning of witnesses

27.  A legal, clinical or specialist adviser advising a committee in accordance with these Rules may, with the permission of the chair of that committee, question any witness appearing before the committee.