The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Disciplinary Committee) Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the procedure to be followed by and before a disciplinary committee constituted under paragraph 5(3) of schedule 2 to the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (asp 13). Such a disciplinary committee is constituted to carry out an investigation at the request of the Scottish Ministers in order to ascertain whether a member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland is unfit for office by reason of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.

Before any investigation by a disciplinary committee commences, the disciplinary committee must give the member of the Tribunal who is subject to the investigation written notice of the investigation and of the reasons why the investigation has been requested (regulation 2).

The Regulations make provision for the disciplinary committee to receive oral or written evidence; for the member under investigation to make written or oral representations; for such representations to be made personally by the member or anyone acting on behalf of the member, and for the confidentiality of proceedings before the disciplinary committee (regulation 4). The Regulations also make provision for a change in the membership of the disciplinary committee after an investigation has commenced (regulation 3).

The Regulations make provision allowing the disciplinary committee to suspend the member under investigation from office during the investigation. The disciplinary committee may direct that a member of the Tribunal so suspended may remain in office for the limited purpose of continuing to deal with proceedings commenced before the suspension took effect (regulation 5).

The disciplinary committee must send a draft of its findings on the investigation to the member under investigation and must give the member the opportunity to make comments on the draft (regulation 6). On completion of the investigation, the disciplinary committee must submit a written report to the Scottish Ministers and send a copy of it to the member. The report must specify the disciplinary committee’s findings on the investigation and its decision on whether to order removal of the member of the Tribunal from office (regulation 7).