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SC clarifies rules on allowing suspended lawyers to resume practice
The SC ruling, however, said Hipe remains disqualified to act as a notary until his disqualification is lifted by the court.
MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday clarified its rules allowing suspended lawyers to resume the practice of law, saying that a lawyer’s administrative suspension is lifted instantly upon the filing of a sworn statement of compliance and even without the high court’s confirmation.
The SC issued the clarification after an inquiry from the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) regarding the case of lawyer Winston Hipe, who was allowed to resume the practice of law after his one-month suspension last year for violation of the rules on notarial practice.
The SC ruling, however, said Hipe remains disqualified to act as a notary until his disqualification is lifted by the court.
In a resolution, the tribunal said “an administrative suspension is lifted upon the filing of a sworn statement of compliance (to the suspension by the lawyer)” and that “the Court’s confirmation is not required.”
A suspended lawyer no longer needs to await the processing and granting of certificates of compliance from courts and quasi-judicial agencies, it added.
“As a necessary consequence of the automatic lifting of suspension, the resumption of the practice of law is likewise deemed automatic. There is nothing in which requires the Court’s confirmation before the suspension may be lifted or the practice of law allowed to resume,” the SC said.
“Lawyers should not be unduly deprived of the privilege and the benefits of practicing the profession once the objectives of the disciplinary sanction have been achieved by the lapse of the period of suspension.”
The SC also clarified that the lifting of a lawyer’s suspension should be reckoned from the time of filing the required sworn statement.
It further tasked the OBC to carefully note and record the filings of such sworn statements of compliance.
The court concluded with a warning that any finding or report contrary to the statements made by suspended lawyers under oath shall be a ground for the imposition of a more severe punishment, or even disbarment.
“While the lifting of administrative suspensions has now been made faster and more efficient, this does not mean that the Court will be similarly liberal to those who would submit false certifications or otherwise exploit the process,” it stated.
