Section 13 Legal Practitioners Act

Section 13 of Legal Practitioners Act 1975 is about Disciplinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It is under ‘Practice as a Legal Practitioner‘ of the sections of the Act. It provides as follows:

1. Where it appears to the Supreme Court that a person whose name is on the roll has been guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect with regard to any matter of which the court or any other court of record in Nigeria is or has been seised, the Supreme Court may if it thinks fit, after hearing any representations made and evidence adduced by or on behalf of that person and such other persons as the court considers appropriate, give such a direction as is mentioned in subsection (1) of section 12, and the direction shall take effect forthwith; and except in the case of an admonition the court shall cause notice of the direction to be published in the Federal Gazette.

2. Where it appears to the Chief Justice that a legal practitioner should be suspended from practice, either with a view to the institution against him of proceedings under this Act before the disciplinary committee or while any such proceedings are pending, the Chief Justice may if he thinks fit, after affording the practitioner in question an opportunity of making representations in the matter, give such direction as is authorised by paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of section 12; and in deciding whether to give such a direction in consequence of the conviction of a legal practitioner, the Chief Justice shall be entitled to disregard the provisions of subsection (5) of that section.