The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has said that it would oppose any attempt to give unlimited fining powers to the body that regulates solicitors in England and Wales.

The Law Society Gazette of England and Wales said that the SDT statement had lit a fire on the debate about the powers that could be wielded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The tribunal was responding to an SRA meeting with British Government ministers earlier this month.

Conflict

The Gazette says that the SRA used ministers’ interest in the case of alleged wrongdoing by immigration lawyers to call for unlimited fining powers beyond its current threshold of £25,000.

It also wants to be able to fine partners and firms who are connected with those who have committed serious misconduct.

The Gazette says that the regulator’s call for greater power will impinge on the SDT’s role, adding that the two organisations are set to come into conflict when the matter is consulted on by the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board.

‘Arm’s length adjudication’

In its statement, the tribunal said: “The SDT will engage fully in the consultation process in its robust opposition of unlimited fining powers being granted to the SRA.

“The SDT delivers arm’s length adjudication, wholly separate from the investigative process, for which the SRA is responsible, in a manner that serves the fundamental principle of open justice.

“An independent, impartial and transparent regulatory framework is the bedrock of fairness and required in service of the overarching public interest,” the SDT concluded.

The SRA said last week that it wanted greater powers to create a deterrent to wrongdoing, and that the alternative of using the tribunal process was too long.