Findings and sanctions of past hearings

Details of published findings and sanctions imposed by Disciplinary Tribunals since BTAS started operations on 1 February 2013 are provided here.  Please note that, in line with the BTAS Publication Policy, findings will be removed from the website after 2 years, unless the finding of the Disciplinary Tribunal involves a suspension or disbarment. In these cases, the finding will be posted on the BTAS website indefinitely.

Details of findings and sanctions are published in accordance with the BTAS Publication Policy: Disciplinary Tribunals and other adjudication hearings.

In exceptional circumstances, a tribunal can require the Bar Standards Board to suspend the defendant’s practising certificate from a date determined by the tribunal and which can take immediate effect (rE227 and rE228 of the Bar Standards Board Handbook). In all other instances, the sanction described in the finding sheets attached will only come into effect after the time for appeal has expired. The date is further determined either by a decision of the Treasurer of the defendant’s Inn or the disposal of the appeal should one be made. For specific detail, please refer to the Enforcement Regulations at rE239 and rE241.

Appeals against relevant decisions of Bar Disciplinary Tribunals made before 7 January 2014 were heard by the Visitors to the Inns of Court.  Since that date appeals fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court (rE236).  The outcome of Visitors’ Hearings (appeals) and appeals to the High Court are also listed on this section of the website.

Using the facility below you may search by: name of barrister; date; type of hearing; sentence and section of the code.

Each set of findings is accorded a status on the following basis:

Open to Appeal: The case is within the period that a barrister can appeal the finding but no appeal has been submitted.

Appeal Pending – Sanction Stayed / Appeal Pending: The barrister has submitted an appeal, which is yet to be heard and the sanction will not be implemented until after the outcome of the appeal is known.  This will be the case unless the Disciplinary Tribunal has ordered that the sanction should take effect immediately.

Final – The finding has been pronounced either after the appeal period has expired or following the result of an appeal.

New findings are posted within seven days of a decision, although it can take up to 24 hours for the finding to appear on the website following its posting (or for a finding to not show on the website following its removal). 

Details of all publishable findings and sanctionss imposed by Disciplinary Tribunals from 2002 to the present date can also be found on the Bar Standards Board website by clicking here.

An alternative means of dealing with professional misconduct complaints is provided by the Determination by Consent (‘DBC’) procedure.  This process is where the Professional Conduct Committee exercises its power to determine the outcome of a disciplinary case with the barrister’s consent.  It is designed to provide a more speedy resolution of straightforward cases without the need for a formal Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.  Further information on the procedure can be accessed here.

Details of the practising status of any barrister can be found on the Bar Standards Board website, click here for further information.

  1. Mon 27 Mar
  2. Tue 28 Mar
  3. Wed 29 Mar

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    Defendant

    Anisah Ahmed

    (Middle Temple)

    Type of hearing
    5 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
    Panel members
    • His Honour Christopher Critchlow (Chair)
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • Mrs Kathryn King
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    Finding and sentence
    Disbarred.
    Status
    Final
    Dates
    Friday 1 July 2016, Wednesday 29 March, Monday 12 June, Wednesday 11 October 2017 and Monday 26 - Tuesday 27 February 2018

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  4. Thu 30 Mar

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    Defendant

    Chukwuma Emele

    (Lincoln's Inn)

    Type of hearing
    5 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
    Panel members
    • His Honour Christopher Critchlow (Chair)
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    Finding and sentence
    Disbarred
    Status
    Final
    Dates
    Tuesday 4 November 2014, Thursday 30 March and Friday 14 July 2017

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  5. Fri 31 Mar
  6. Sat 01 Apr
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  9. Tue 04 Apr
  10. Wed 05 Apr

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    Defendant

    Henry Hendron

    (Middle Temple)

    Type of hearing
    5 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
    Panel members
    • His Honour Patrick O'Brien (Chair)
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • Ms Jennifer Jones
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    Finding and sentence
    3 Years Suspension
    Status
    Final
    Dates
    Thursday 9 February and Wednesday 5 April 2017

    Close

  11. Thu 06 Apr
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  24. Wed 19 Apr

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    Defendant

    Mahnoor Choudhury

    (Lincoln's Inn)

    Type of hearing
    5 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
    Panel members
    • His Honour John Price (Chair)
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    • His Honour Nicholas Ainley
    Finding and sentence
    Disbarred / Reprimanded.
    Status
    Final
    Date
    Wednesday 19 April 2017

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  25. Thu 20 Apr
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  29. Mon 24 Apr
  30. Tue 25 Apr

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    Defendant

    Sellappah Joseph

    (Middle Temple)

    Type of hearing
    3 Person Disciplinary Tribunal
    Panel members
    Finding and sentence
    12 Months Suspension
    Status
    Final
    Date
    Tuesday 25 April 2017

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  31. Wed 26 Apr
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  35. Sun 30 Apr