7. Disciplinary Matters

1. The Management Committee of the Association shall appoint a Disciplinary Committee consisting of five members of which a minimum of two and a maximum of three shall be members of the Management Committee. The Disciplinary Committee shall be constituted for the purposes of enquiring into the matters referred to in paragraphs (d) and (e) and ruling thereon in accordance with paragraph (f) to (i) hereinbelow.
2. The initial and subsequent members of the Disciplinary Committee shall be nominated by two or more members of the Management Committee and elected by a majority vote of the Management Committee. In the event that more members shall be nominated than there are vacancies in the Disciplinary Committee those nominees with the greatest number of votes shall be deemed elected. Members of the Disciplinary Committee shall continue in office until, and then retire at, the Annual General Meeting of the Association next following their election provided that members of the Disciplinary Committee shall continue in office for the purpose of completing any enquiry that remains part heard at the time of the Annual General Meeting at which they would otherwise retire.
3. A Member or Chief Executive who is the subject of an enquiry by the Disciplinary Committee shall have the right to be notified of such enquiry and to make written submissions in related thereto. The Member or Chief Executive shall be given the opportunity to appear and be heard before the Disciplinary Committee and to be given not less than 21 days' notice of any meeting at which such appearance may take place.
4. The Management Committee or any Member or Chief Executive or the Insurance Authority may refer any matter to the Disciplinary Committee for consideration, and the Disciplinary Committee shall have power to consider all matters so referred to it. The Disciplinary Committee shall also have power to consider any matter referred to it by a non-member, and to consider any matter which in its opinion merits such consideration notwithstanding that the same shall not have been referred to it. Any complaint made or information given by any person, body or firm to the Disciplinary Committee in respect of any matter shall be privileged information and shall be maintained in confidence.
5. Whenever it shall have come to the notice of the Disciplinary Committee that:-
   1. any Member may have been admitted to membership of the Association under any misrepresentation or by the suppression or non-disclosure of any information which may be required of it and which in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee is material or that the name of any Chief Executive has been entered on the Register of Chief Executive on a similar basis; or
   2. the conduct of any Member or of any Chief Executive or any director or employee of a Member may be injurious to the character and interests or prejudicial to the objects of the Association; or
   3. a complaint has been made to the Association by or on belhalf of a member of the public concerning the activities or conduct of a Member, Chief Executive or any director or employee of a Member; or
   4. any member or Chief Executive or any director or employee of Member may have violated any of the Articles or any Rules or this Regulations or Bye-Laws of the Association;
   5. any Member or Chief Executive has been convicted of a criminal offence involving a finding a of fraud or dishonesty or any of the employees or directors of a Member have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment without the option of a fine in respect of a matter pertaining to the Member;
   6. any Member has defaulted in payment of any levy or fine imposed on it by the Association; then the Disciplinary Committee shall investigate the matter and if satisfied that a prima facie case has been established in respect thereof and unless the Disciplinary Committee is of the opinion that the matter is of a trivial or technical nature or that there are extenuating circumstances the Disciplinary Committee shall request the Member or Chief Executive to attend a meeting and explain its or his or her conduct in regard to the matter. For the purposes of determining whether a prima facie case has been established the Disciplinary Committee may refer the matter to a sub-committee consisting of up to three Disciplinary Committee members.
6. If the Disciplinary Committee shall, at any meeting or at any adjournment thereof, after considering the explanation (if any) of the Member or Chief Executive or, if the Member or Chief Executive fails to attend such meeting, in such Member's or Chief Executive's absence, decide that the complaint is well founded then it may:-
   1. expel that Member and direct that its name be removed from the Register of Members;
   2. suspend that Member from membership for such period as it may deem expedient;
   3. direct that any person's name be removed from the Register of Chief Executive;
   4. direct that any person shall be prohibited from being a director or shareholder of or associated in any manner with the Member;
   5. take such other disciplinary action as the Disciplinary Committee may regard to be appropriate and in the interests of the Association including the imposition of a fine on or public censure of the Member. In coming to its decisions the Disciplinary Committee may consider and act upon such evidence as the Disciplinary Committee may in its absolute discretion deem admissible in relation to any matter as it thinks fit.
7. No resolution of the Disciplinary Committee to expel or suspend a Member from membership shall be carried except by a majority vote of four-fifths of the members of the Disciplinary Committee. A resolution to suspend, or expel a Member, recorded in the Minute Book of the Disciplinary Committee and signed by the Chairman of the meeting deciding on the suspension or expulsion shall be conclusive evidence thereof.
8. The Disciplinary Committee may, instead of exercising its powers of expulsion, call upon the Member concerned by written notice to resign, and if within seven clear days from the date of such notice, such Member shall not have submitted notice of its resignation, it may then proceed to expel such Member.
9. The Disciplinary Committee shall have power, if it thinks fit, to suspend any Member from membership or suspend the registration of any Chief Executive whose conduct is under investigation until the Disciplinary Committee has enquired into such conduct and has come to a decision thereon. The Member or Chief Executive whose conduct is under investigation shall not be entitled to complain of the length of time required for such investigation and neither the Association nor any of its members or their employees shall be under any obligation whatsoever to compensate a Member or Chief Executive suspended under this Regulation even if the investigation subsequently vindicates the conduct of such Member or Chief Executive.
10. Where:-
    1. a director of any Member is sentenced for an offence as referred to in paragraph 7(e)(v) above; or
    2. a Member is expelled from the Association and any act or omission constituting the ground or one of the grounds on which it was so expelled was instigated or connived at by a director of the Member or by a Chief Executive, or, if the act or omission was a continuing act or omission, such director or Chief Executive had or reasonably ought to have had knowledge of the continuance thereof, the Disciplinary Committee may, if it thinks fit, direct that no Insurance Broker of which such director or Chief Executive is a shareholder or director or with which such director or Chief Executive is associated in any manner shall be admitted to membership of the Association for such period of time as the Disciplinary Committee may direct (if at all) and that the name of such Chief Executive be removed from the Register of Chief Executive; and in the event that such Chief Executive or director or an expelled Member shall also be a director of or associated in any manner with one or more other Members the Disciplinary Committee may direct that such other Member or Members shall also be expelled, unless within such period of time as the Disciplinary Committee shall specify the Chief Executive or director of the expelled Member shall resign as a director of or cease to be so associated with such other Member or Members.
11. When the Disciplinary Committee makes a direction affecting any Member or Chief Executive, or any other person, the Association shall serve on that Member or Chief Executive or other person so affected a notification of the direction containing a statement of the Disciplinary Committee's reasons therefor. Service of the notification shall be made by the delivery thereof to the registered address of the Member or Chief Executive as it appears in the Register of Members or the Register of Chief Executives or to the address of any other person last known to the Association.
12. 1. Any decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall be subject to appeal in accordance with this Regulation and the
    Articles of Association but shall otherwise be final and not liable to be set aside or varied by any other authority or body.
    2. At any time within twenty-eight days from the service of a notification under paragraph 7(k) the Member or Chief Executive or other person on whom such notification has been served may appeal to the members of the Association in general meeting. Notice of any such appeal shall be given within the said period of twenty-eight days to the Management Committee which shall convene a meeting of the members of the Association to consider such appeal on as early a date as is reasonably practicable.
    3. Where no appeal is brought or where such an appeal is brought but withdrawn, the direction of the Disciplinary Committee shall take effect on the expiration of the time for appealing or, as the case may be, on the withdrawal of the appeal.
    4. Subject as aforesaid, where an appeal is brought, the decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall take effect if and when the Management Committee upholds the decision of the Disciplinary Committee.
13. 1. Where a Member has been expelled from the Association or the name of a Chief Executive is removed from the Register of Chief Executive pursuant to a decision of the Disciplinary Committee, that former Member or Chief Executive shall not be permitted to rejoin the Association or be re-registered as a Chief Executive unless the Disciplinary Committee on application made to it in that behalf otherwise directors.
    2. An application for the admission to membership of an expelled Member or re-registration of a person as a Chief Executive shall not be made to the Disciplinary Committee:-
       1. within twelve months of the date of the Member's expulsion or the removal of such person's name from the Register of Chief Executives; or
       2. within twelve months of any previous applications thereunder.
14. In the event that a Member is expelled or suspended from membership of the Association, the name of any Chief Executive who is employed by or who is a director of such Member shall also be removed or suspended from the Register of Chief Executive, as the case may be.