The High Court has set aside service of judicial review proceedings on the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and dismissed the case, ruling that the Irish court had no jurisdiction to hear it.
Mr Justice Max Barrett delivered the judgment on 21 February 2018. The ruling concerned ACCA’s motion challenging jurisdiction; it did not decide the merits of Gregory Colclough’s complaints about the association’s disciplinary process.
Colclough, an accountant and ACCA member, sought to quash decisions made by the association’s Admissions and Licensing Committee and Appeal Committee. The dispute followed professional standards monitoring visits that began in May 2012. After a further visit, ACCA concluded in December 2014 that Colclough was not a fit and proper person to retain an audit qualification and required that his practising certificate be issued without that qualification. His application for permission to appeal was refused, and an Appeal Committee later declined to consider that refusal.
Colclough alleged deficiencies in the proceedings and argued that ACCA’s decisions breached fair procedures and constitutional justice. He also raised concerns about delay in a separate professional conduct investigation. Those were his claims; the court did not rule on their substance in this judgment.
ACCA argued that the case should be heard in England and Wales under its rules, which provide that its relationship with members is governed by English and Welsh law and that disputes fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts. The court found that the relationship was contractual and that ACCA was not exercising public or statutory powers over Colclough. It also held that the dispute was a civil and commercial matter and that the jurisdiction clause applied under the Brussels Recast Regulation.
The court separately found that the proceedings had been served on ACCA’s London office without compliance with the rules for service outside Ireland. It rejected the argument that a procedural rule on non-compliance could cure the defect by conferring jurisdiction.
The judgment said ACCA was amenable to judicial review in England and Wales and rejected the contention that sending Colclough there would offend public policy. The court’s order was limited to setting aside service and dismissing the Irish proceedings. It did not determine whether the challenged disciplinary decisions were lawful or whether Colclough would succeed in any proceedings elsewhere.