Litigation Letter
Res judicata
Regina (Coke-Wallis) v Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [2011] UKSC 1; [2011] WLR (D) 3; TLR 31 January
The claimant was a chartered accountant against whom the Institute had preferred a complaint alleging that he had committed
an act likely to bring discredit on himself, the Institute or the profession of accountancy, contrary to by-law 4(1)(a) and
that he had been convicted of failing to comply with the direction of the Jersey Financial Services Commission that he should
not remove from the companies’ offices any records or files in respect of certain trust companies of which he was a director
and shareholder. The complaint was dismissed by a disciplinary committee on the basis that the offence for which he was convicted
did not correspond to one which was indictable in England and Wales and, therefore, it could not, under by-law 7, be conclusive
evidence of the commission by him of an act within by-law 4(1)(a). The institute then preferred a second complaint alleging
that the claimant had committed an act contrary to by-law 4(1)(a) and that he had attempted to remove from Jersey books and
records in contravention of the commission’s direction. The High Court judge and the Court of Appeal dismissed the claimant’s
appeal against the rejection of his application that the second complaint should be dismissed and he appealed to the Supreme
Court.