Part IDecisions and Appeals
C5Chapter IGeneral
Appeals
F104Unified appeal tribunals
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I4I7C4F115President of appeal tribunals
C1C2C31
The Lord Chancellor may, after consultation with the Lord Advocate, appoint a President of appeal tribunals.
2
A person is qualified to be appointed President if—
F6a
he satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis; or
b
he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least F77 years' standing.
I103
Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing this section.
I1I5I8C4F126Panel for appointment to appeal tribunals
1
The Lord Chancellor shall constitute a panel of persons to act as members of appeal tribunals.
2
Subject to subsection (3) below, the panel shall be composed of F2persons appointed by the Lord Chancellor.
3
The panel shall include persons possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations made with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor.
F33A
As part of the selection process for the appointment of a medical practitioner as a member of the panel, the Judicial Appointments Commission shall consult the Chief Medical Officer.
4
The numbers of persons appointed to the panel, and the terms and conditions of their appointments, shall be determined by the Lord Chancellor with the consent of the Secretary of State.
5
A person may be removed from the panel by the Lord Chancellor on the ground of incapacity or misbehaviourF4; but the Lord Chancellor may remove such a person only with the concurrence of the appropriate senior judge.
F55A
The appropriate senior judge is the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, unless the person to be removed exercises functions wholly or mainly in Scotland, in which case it is the Lord President of the Court of Session.
6
In this section “the Chief Medical Officer” means—
a
in relation to England, the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health;
b
in relation to Wales, the Chief Medical Officer of the Welsh Office; and
c
in relation to Scotland, the Chief Medical Officer of the F1Scottish Administration.
I2I3I6I9C4F137Constitution of appeal tribunals
1
Subject to subsection (2) below, an appeal tribunal shall consist of one, two or three members drawn by the President from the panel constituted under section 6 above.
2
The member, or (as the case may be) at least one member, of an appeal tribunal must—
F8a
be a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, a barrister in England and Wales or have a qualification that is specified under subsection (6A); or
b
be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland.
3
Where an appeal tribunal has more than one member—
a
the President shall nominate one of the members as chairman;
b
decisions shall be taken by a majority of votes; and
c
unless regulations otherwise provide, the chairman shall have any casting vote.
4
Where it appears to an appeal tribunal that a matter before it involves a question of fact of special difficulty, then, unless regulations otherwise provide, the tribunal may require one or more experts to provide assistance to it in dealing with the question.
5
In subsection (4) above “expert” means a member of the panel constituted under section 6 above who appears to the appeal tribunal concerned to have knowledge or experience which would be relevant in determining the question of fact of special difficulty.
6
Regulations shall make provision with respect to—
a
the composition of appeal tribunals;
b
the procedure to be followed in allocating cases among differently constituted tribunals; and
c
the manner in which expert assistance is to be given under subsection (4) above.
F96A
The Lord Chancellor may by order specify a qualification for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above.
6B
Subsections (2) to (4), (9) and (10) of section 51 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (contents of orders under subsection (1) of that section, and cessation of effect of such orders) shall apply for the purposes of subsection (6A) above as they apply for the purposes of subsection (1) of that section, but as if the reference in subsection (3) of that section to section 50 of that Act were a reference to this section.
6C
For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above, a person shall be taken first to become a barrister—
a
when the person completes pupillage in connection with becoming a barrister, or
b
in the case of a person not required to undertake pupillage in connection with becoming a barrister, when the person is called to the Bar of England and Wales.
6D
For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above, a person shall be taken not to be a solicitor or a barrister, or not to have a qualification specified under subsection (6A) above, if as a result of disciplinary proceedings he is prevented from practising as a solicitor or (as the case may be) as a barrister or as a holder of the specified qualification.
I117
Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for supplementing this section.
Pt. I Ch. I functions transferred (3.11.2008) by The Transfer of Tribunal Functions Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2833), arts. 1(1), 3(1), 4, 5, Sch. 1 (with Sch. 4)