Members of the Law Society of Northern Ireland last week forced a U-turn on its position at a special general meeting which backed the continued application of the criminal standard of proof, in spite of proposals to change this to the civil standard of proof.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland is currently consulting on the proposed change.

Advocates say it would bring the Northern Ireland solicitors’ profession in line with barristers, the Bar Council of Northern Ireland having adopted the civil standard in 2024.

The civil standard has also been applied by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the Bar Standards Board in England and Wales since 2019.

However, solicitors in Northern Ireland have pushed back against the comparisons, with last week’s meeting hearing arguments that solicitors are more exposed to the general public than barristers and that the small size of the jurisdiction makes findings of misconduct more damaging.

The criminal standard of proof also continues to apply in disciplinary proceedings south of the border and in Scotland, suggesting it is far from a settled matter across the four jurisdictions of these islands.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has said it operated on the mistaken assumption that the civil standard of proof applied in the tribunal until 2023, when the tribunal obtained an opinion from senior counsel confirming this was not the case.

The opinion and subsequent tribunal decision confirmed that, as the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 does not specify the standard of proof which applies, the common law position is that the criminal standard of proof applies.

Irish Legal News has spoken to a number of solicitors who expressed anger that the Law Society subsequently suggested there was a “consensus” in favour of changing the rules to the civil standard without properly consulting members.

Following last week’s meeting, the Law Society now supports the continued application of the criminal standard of proof in all disciplinary proceedings.

The change could, however, still be made by the tribunal and the lady chief justice without the support of the Law Society.

In a statement, the Law Society said: “The Law Society of Northern Ireland held a special general meeting [on Thursday 23 October] to discuss a motion to support the continued application of the criminal standard of proof (‘beyond reasonable doubt’) by the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in all disciplinary proceedings.

“The change had been proposed as part of a consultation on new procedural rules for the tribunal.

“Members from across Northern Ireland attended the meeting in-person and online and contributed to a wide-ranging discussion on the key issues.

“Members voted in favour of the motion.

“The president confirmed that a consultative group would now be established to develop a full response to the tribunal’s consultation on new procedural rules.”

A spokesperson for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for Northern Ireland told Irish Legal News: “The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is currently consulting various parties concerning a number of changes to its rules and will consider all the responses in due course.”