Naseem Bajwa

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Naseem Ahmed Bajwa, an unregistered barrister, was found by a Disciplinary Tribunal to have committed two charges of professional misconduct contrary to Core Duty 5 and/or rS6 of the BSB Handbook by conducting litigation without authorisation - filing two judicial review claim forms at the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in November 2019 and stating he was the applicant's representative. The Tribunal found his conduct was at least reckless and serious, as it could amount to a criminal offence under the Legal Services Act 2007. No express finding of dishonesty was made; indeed the Tribunal accepted he had not described himself as a barrister and considered whether it was an honest mistake. At the sanction hearing on 11 April 2024, because Mr Bajwa had already been disbarred in separate proceedings with no pending appeal, the Tribunal took no further action and made no order as to costs (the BSB did not seek costs).

Duties found breached:

• Overriding duty to the court
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Mr Bajwa was a specialist practitioner who had done this type of work for some years
• He failed to keep up to date with relevant rules (Rule 11(5A) Tribunal Procedure Rules)
• He had at least some suspicion as to his ability to file the claim forms
• His conduct was at least reckless and could amount to a criminal offence

Mitigating factors:

• Applicants themselves did not complain and both applications were settled
• Mr Bajwa did not describe himself as a barrister in either form
• Possible reliance on tribunal staff confirmation
• Advanced age (nearing 87) and poor physical and mental health