STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 362 of 1999.

THE SOLICITORS ACTS, 1954 TO 1994 (PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1999

S.I. No. 362 of 1999.

THE SOLICITORS ACTS, 1954 TO 1994 (PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1999

The Law Society of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 26 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 HEREBY MAKE the following Regulations:

Citation and Construction.

1. (a) These Regulations may be cited as The Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994 (Professional Indemnity Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1999.

(b) These Regulations and The Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994 (Professional Indemnity Insurance) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1995 ) and the Professional Indemnity Insurance (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 209 of 1998 ) shall be construed as one and may be cited as The Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994 (Professional Indemnity Insurance) Regulations, 1995 to 1999.

(c) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January 2000.

Amendments to definitions of “legal services” and “run-off cover”.

2. Regulation 2(a) of The Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994 (Professional Indemnity Insurance) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1995 ) is hereby amended by--

(i) the substitution of the following for the definition therein of “legal services”:

“ ‘legal services’ means services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor, and includes any part of such services; and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes any investment business services provided by a solicitor who is not an authorised investment business firm; the words ‘investment business services’ and ‘authorised investment business firm’ having, respectively, the meanings assigned to them in section 2 of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998 ;”;

(ii) the substitution in the definition therein of “run-off cover” of the words “two years” for the words “six years”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The principal purpose of the instrument is to amend The Solicitors Acts, 1954 to 1994 (Professional Indemnity Insurance Regulations) 1995 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1995 )--

--  to provide for making of the definition of the words “legal services” consistent with the definition as contained in section 2 of The Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1994 as amended by section 45(b) of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998 ;

--  to provide that the mandatory period of run-off cover be reduced from six years to two years.