Professions

Pharmacist - registration - examination for membership registration - governing body's by-laws prohibiting registration of applicants failing exam three times -by-laws not ultra viresR (Mahmood) v Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain; CA: (Lords Justice Kennedy, Chadwick and Rix): 31 July 2001The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was incorporated under a charter of 1843 as a regulatory body of pharmacists who had to be registered as members to practise as pharmacists.Since 1843 the charter and statute concerning the society underwent various changes.

In 1997 the society introduced by-law 29, prohibiting registration of applicants for membership who had failed three attempts to pass the registration examination set by the society.

The applicants' application for a judicial review of by-law 29 on the ground that the society had no power to introduce that by-law was dismissed.

The applicants appealed.Andrew Arden QC and Amy Baker (instructed by Allen & Overy) for the applicants; Nigel Pleming QC and Alison Foster (instructed by Penningtons) for the society.Held, dismissing the appeal, that the society, as a self-regulatory body to register its members and to maintain the pharmaceutical profession, had powers to regulate its administrative functions and to introduce regulations which could empower it to restrict the registration of members based on its examination system; that neither the royal charter nor the statute relating to its existence prohibited the introduction of the by-law; and that, accordingly, by-law 29 was not ultra vires.