The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has issued written reasons for a decision it made orally back in May, affirming the Nova Scotia Securities Commission has jurisdiction to prosecute a violation of a self-regulatory organization’s rules.

The decision comes out of a case in which the NSSC decided that it had jurisdiction to deal with an alleged violation of the rules of an SRO, in this case the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, by a mutual fund rep. The rep’s lawyers argued the commission had delegated this authority to the MFDA and so it only had the power to review MFDA disciplinary decisions.

Counsel for the commission argued that it has the power to rule in the public interest, and that the MFDA and NSSC have concurrent jurisdiction over compliance with the SRO’s rules and by-laws.

The court agreed with the commission, noting there’s nothing in securities legislation that bars it from exercising its power once it has delegated authority to an SRO. It dismissed the appeal.