A ONE-MAN tribunal will sit in place of the the four-member committees in future to try errant lawyers, in a move to speed up such disciplinary cases.

This tribunal will comprise either a Senior Counsel, a retired judge or a former Judicial Commissioner to be appointed by the Chief Justice.

The move is among a raft of new measures to boost public confidence in the legal profession.

Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong raised the pressing need to revise and enhance the disciplinary process for the legal profession at the Opening of the Legal Year in January.

The current Disciplinary Committee (DC) is made up of two lawyers, a representative from the Attorney-General's Office and a lay member.

DCs, which are appointed by the Chief Justice, look into misconduct charges referred by the Law Society's Council.

They may after hearing the case, either refer the errant lawyer to the Court of Three Judges, or if the case is not serious enough, recommend a fine or reprimand by the Law Society.

The lawyer may also be acquitted if found not guilty.

But the DC's four-member composition often made it difficult to schedule early hearings.

This is borne out by the time taken to complete hearings which has doubled from 7.5 months in 2002 to an average of 15.4 months last year.

In its report, Justice V K Rajah's committee said that although there were reservations about the proposed change by various stakeholders, it must be noted that a 'not inconsiderable number of lawyers are acquitted of any misconduct at the disciplinary committee stage.'

'For them, justice is denied when hearings are unreasonably delayed,' said the report.

Two safeguards will also be put in place to deter frivolous complaints against lawyers.

As is the case with doctors and accountants, such complaints by a member of the public will have to be supported by a statutory declaration affirming the veracity of the complaint.

The maximum deposit for a complainant will also be increased from $500 to $1,000.

These deposits may be used to offset expenses and costs of the hearing.

Complaints are currently sieved first by review and inquiry committees.

The Inquiry Committee or Disciplinary Tribunal will have powers to order complainants to pay costs of the hearings if the complaints are found to be frivolous or driven by malice or misplaced unhappiness.

Additionally, the penalties against errant lawyers will also be enhanced.

The Law Society's Council may impose fines of up to $20,000 from the current $10,000 on an errant lawyer where the charge is not serious enough to be referred to a Court of Three judges.

Sentencing options open to the Court of Three Judges to deal with an offending lawyer will also be widened to include a maximum fine of $100,000 or a combination of fine and suspension or censure, in addition to the prospect of being struck-off.

Lawyers with physical or mental diseases may also be ordered to be medically cleared by a doctor on the application of the Law Society or the Attorney-General.

The move is to assure the public that lawyers with such conditions are still able to carry out their duties.

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