PART II

Name and Membership of Law Society of Ireland

4. —(1) The body heretofore known as the “Incorporated Law Society of Ireland” shall be known as the “Law Society of Ireland” and may provide itself with a seal.

(2) Where, before the coming into operation of this section, any legal proceedings are pending to which the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland is a party, the name Law Society of Ireland shall be substituted in the proceedings for the name Incorporated Law Society of Ireland and the proceedings shall not abate because of such substitution.

(3) References to the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland contained immediately before the coming into operation of this section in any statute or statutory instrument (within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act, 1947 ) or in the memorandum or articles of association of any company or in any will, trust, deed, agreement or other document shall be construed on and after the coming into operation of this section as references to the Law Society of Ireland.

5. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 78:

“Amendment of bye-laws so as to conform with the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994, and regulations thereunder.

78.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of their Charters, the Society shall make any amendments to the bye-laws of the Society that are necessary to bring them into conformity with the Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994, and any regulations made thereunder.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in their Charters, the Society may in their bye-laws make provision for all or any of the following, namely—

(i) the membership of the Council,

(ii) the election or appointment of persons to membership of the Council,

(iii) the admission of persons as honorary or associate members of the Society.

(3) In this section ‘their Charters’ means, respectively, the Charter and the Supplemental Charter of the Society referred to in section 33(1) of the Act of 1960.”.

6. —(1) The Society may—

(a) admit as an honorary member of the Society any person whom the Society wish so to admit, and

(b) admit as an associate member of the Society any person or class of persons who is or are a member or members of a corresponding professional body in another jurisdiction.

(2) In this section “corresponding professional body” means a body established outside the State with objectives and functions similar to those of the Society.

7. —(1) Section 73 (as amended by the Act of 1960) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (3) and (4):

“(3) A committee under this section may include solicitors who are not members of the Council and persons who are not solicitors, but where functions of the Society which are performable by the Council are delegated to a committee, at least two-thirds of the members of the committee and of any quorum of the committee shall be members of the Council.

(4) Where functions of the Society which are performable by the Council are delegated to a committee under this section, that committee, in the performance of all or any of its delegated functions, may sit in one or more divisions, provided that—

(a) the quorum of such committee or any division of such committee shall be three, and

(b) where there are one or more members of such committee who are not solicitors, the quorum of such committee or any division of such committee shall include at least one of such members.”.

(2) Section 73 (as amended by the Act of 1960) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (9):

“(9) A member of a committee under the section, who was a member of the Council at the date of his appointment, may act on the committee notwithstanding the fact that he has ceased to be a member of the Council and, for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, he shall be regarded as a member of the Council.

(10) Where the Council has delegated functions to a committee under subsection (1) of this section, that committee may, subject to the prior approval of the Council, delegate any of such functions to a designated senior officer or senior officers for the time being appointed by the Society for that purpose, with or without restrictions, for such period as the committee may specify with the approval of the Council, and the committee or the Council may revoke such delegation with or without notice.”.