S.I. No. 799/2004 - The European Communities (Lawyers' Establishment) Regulations, 2003 (Qualifying Certificate 2005) Regulations, 2004

1. This application must be duly completed by an applicant lawyer seeking a registered lawyer's qualifying certificate who is intending to engage in the State during the practice year ending 31st December 2005 in the provision of legal services, whether as a sole practitioner or as a partner in a solicitor's or registered lawyer's practice or as an employee of any solicitor or registered lawyer or of any other person or body, including an applicant who does not require a qualifying certificate by reason of being a lawyer in the full-time service of the State [within the meaning of

section 54

of the

Solicitors Act, 1954

, as substituted by

section 62

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994

] or by reason of being a lawyer employed full-time in the State to provide conveyancing services only to and for his/her non-solicitor or non-registered lawyer employer [section 56,

Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994

]

2. The practice year coincides with the calendar year. A Qualifying Certificate must be received by the Registrar at the Society's premises at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 on or before Tuesday, 1st February 2005 in order for the qualifying certificate to be dated 1st January 2005 and thereby to operate as a qualification to practise from the commencement of the practice year 2005. A Qualifying Certificate issued after the 1st February 2005 must

[under Section 48, as amended by

Section 55

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994

, of the

Solicitors Act, 1954

]

bear the date on which the application is actually received by the Registrar. In April 2005, a listing of registered lawyers holding Qualifying Certificates as at 31st March 2005 will be forwarded to each County Registrar, District Court Clerk, Taxing Master and Bar Association.

3. The Registration Fee and the Compensation Fund Contribution are required to be paid by each applicant lawyer seeking a registered lawyer's qualifying certificate.

4. An applicant lawyer applying for his/her first qualifying certificate during the practice year 2005 may calculate the Registration Fee and the Compensation Fund Contribution payable by him/her on the basis of the number of full calendar months remaining in that practice year following the month of his/her application; and the registered lawyer's membership subscription in respect of that practice year (or part thereof) shall be at the reduced rate of €20.

5. Payment of the Membership Subscription and/or the Solicitors’ Benevolent Association Contribution and/or the Free Legal Advice Centres Contribution is/are not condition(s) precedent to the issue of a registered lawyer's qualifying certificate. However, unless a registered lawyer pays the annual membership subscription, he/she cannot enjoy the benefits of being a member of the Society as a registered lawyer as if an Irish solicitor member as provided for in the Society's Bye-Laws, including the right to vote in annual and provincial elections and the right to receive’the Society's Gazette.

6. A Lawyer's International Professional Identity Card is available to a member of the Society who holds a current Qualifying Certificate, on receipt by the Registrar of Solicitors of a completed form of application (obtainable on request from the Society) together with a fee of €13.

SECOND SCHEDULE

within referred to

EURO

(a)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31st day of December 2005 payable to the Society on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer admitted to the Register of Registered Lawyers for three years or more on the 1st day of January 2005

€1,283.00

(b)

Registration Fee for the practice year ending on the 31st day of December 2005 payable to the Society on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer originally admitted to the Register of Registered Lawyers for less than three years on the 1st day of January 2005

€995.00

(c)

Contribution to the Compensation Fund for the practice year ending on the 31st day of December 2005 payable on application for a qualifying certificate by an applicant registered lawyer

€400.00

(d)

Fee payable to the Society on each application pursuant to

Section 17

of the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960

for a copy of an entry on File A or File B

€6.00

The Law Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the European Communities (Lawyers’ Establishment) Regulations, 2003 (

S.I. No 732 of 2003

) HEREBY MAKE the following Regulations

Citation and Commencement