The Tribunal is a statutory tribunal pursuant to Article 43 of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.
The Tribunal may, with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice, make rules regulating applications and complaints to the Tribunal and the hearing, conduct and determination of such applications and complaints and of inquiries held by the Tribunal.
The Rules regulating such matters are the Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules (Northern Ireland) 1990.
From time to time the Tribunal may also make Practice Directions to regulate their procedure. The current directions are Practice Direction No 1 of 2019.
The Tribunal has also published Guidance on Sanctions to assist the parties and the legal profession in understanding the Tribunal’s decision making process when determining sanction.