UK: England and Wales: section 172 of the Companies Act (2006)

Last month, in Kaur, R (on the application of) v Institute of Legal Executives Appeal Tribunal [2011] EWCA Civ 1168, the Court of Appeal held that the presence of the ILEX vice president on the Institute's Appeal Tribunal, which heard an appeal from a student member charged with examination malpractice, gave rise to the appearance of bias and that the decisions of the Appeal Tribunal and preceding Disciplinary Tribunal should be quashed. It is interesting to note that section 172 ("duty to promote success of the company") of the Companies Act (2006) was referred to by counsel, it being argued on the student member's behalf that the vice president, who as an ILEX council member was also a company director (ILEX being a company limited by guarantee), had a duty to ensure compliance with professional standards by prosecuting breaches, a position supported by section 172(2)(e) which required directors to have regard to the "desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for high standards of business conduct".