The General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules) Order of Council 1998

Statutory Instruments

1998 No. 1337

OPTICIANS

The General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules) Order of Council 1998

Made

27th May 1998

At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 27th day of May 1998

By the Lords of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council

Whereas in pursuance of section 21(4) of the Opticians Act 1989(1) the General Optical Council have made the General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee) (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1998 as set out in the Schedule to this Order:

And whereas by section 34 of the said Act such rules shall not come into force until approved by order of the Privy Council:

Now, therefore, Their Lordships, having taken the said rules into consideration, do hereby approve the same.

This Order may be cited as the General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules) Order of Council 1998.

N.H. Nicholls

Clerk of the Privy Council

SCHEDULE GENERAL OPTICAL COUNCIL

The General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee) (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1998

The General Optical Council, in exercise of their powers under section 21(4) of the Opticians Act 1989(2), and after consulting such organisations as the Council consider requisite under section 21(6) of that Act, hereby make the following Rules:

1.  These Rules may be cited as the General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee) (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 1998.

2.  The General Optical Council Disciplinary Committee (Procedure) Rules 1985 (scheduled to the General Optical Council (Disciplinary Committee) (Procedure) Order of Council 1985(3)) shall be amended as follows:

(1) after Rule 2 there shall be added as Rule 2A the following:

“Questionnaire

2A.   Not less than fourteen days before the date of the Inquiry by the Committee as stated in the Notice of Inquiry, any party to the Inquiry shall serve on any other the following information—

[a] their estimate of the likely length of the hearing;

[b] a statement of what, in their view, are the issues in the case;

[c] how many witnesses they are to call;

[d] whether, in their view, there are matters which can be agreed without the need to call evidence (and, if so, which matters those are);

[e] any points of law which they may expect will arise at the hearing.”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The Rules approved by this Order introduce into the disciplinary procedures of the General Optical Council the preliminary interchange of information between parties to an inquiry.

(1)

1989 c. 44

(2)

1989 c. 44

(3)

S.I. 1985/1580