Disciplinary Committee & Determinations

What is the FRC's Disciplinary Committee?

The Farriers Registration Council’s (FRC) Disciplinary Committee (DC) is a statutory committee established by way of section 14 and Schedule 3 of the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975; it comprises nine members, a mix of lay and professional, who are appointed by the Council.  

The DC is a properly constituted judicial tribunal and its rules of procedure are set out in legislation by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Advocate; the DC, as a matter of Council policy, applies the civil standard of proof, that is, on the balance of probabilities. If the DC finds a charge or charges against a respondent proved, and decides that the matters proved amount to serious misconduct in a professional respect, it may order the respondent’s name to be removed or suspended from the Register of Farriers. Alternatively, the DC may issue a reprimand or a warning as to future conduct, judgment may be postponed for a stated period, or it may make no direction. Where a sanction of removal or suspension is directed, the respondent may appeal to the High Court or to the Court of Session.

No person who has acted as a member of the Investigating Committee (IC) with respect to any case shall act as a member of the DC with respect to that same case.

Open disciplinary procedures

The FRC operates open disciplinary procedures, meaning that disciplinary hearings are open to the public and the media, and the Council is expected to publish information about the outcomes of disciplinary hearings and how they may affect the registration of a registrant. Publication of the intention to hold hearings, and publication of the outcomes, enables the public to be reassured that the FRC is carrying out its statutory duties as Parliament intended.