Subject to section 6 but without prejudice to the generality of section 1(1)(a), the Council may make to the appropriate Minister general recommendations as to the making of appointments to membership of any tribunals mentioned in Schedule 1 or of panels constituted for the purposes of any such tribunals; and (without prejudice to any statutory provisions having effect with respect to such appointments) the appropriate Minister shall have regard to recommendations under this section.

In this section “the appropriate Minister”, in relation to appointments of any description, means the Minister making the appointments or, if they are not made by a Minister, the Minister in charge of the government department concerned with the tribunals in question.

The chairman, or any person appointed to act as chairman, of any of the tribunals to which this subsection applies shall (without prejudice to any statutory provisions as to qualifications) be selected by the appropriate authority from a panel of persons appointed by the Lord Chancellor.

Members of panels constituted under this section shall hold and vacate office under the terms of the instruments under which they are appointed, but may resign office by notice in writing to the Lord Chancellor; and any such member who ceases to hold office shall be eligible for re-appointment.

Subsection (1) applies to any tribunal specified in F7paragraph 7(b) or 38(a) of Schedule 1.

In relation to the tribunals specified in paragraph 41(a), (b) and (c) of Schedule 1, this section has effect subject to sections 41 (social security appeal tribunals), 43 (disability appeal tribunals) and 50 (medical appeal tribunals) of the M1Social Security Administration Act 1992.

The person or persons constituting any tribunal specified in paragraph 31 of Schedule 1 shall be appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and where such a tribunal consists of more than one person the Lord Chancellor shall designate which of them is to be the chairman.

In this section, “the appropriate authority” means the Minister who apart from this Act would be empowered to appoint or select the chairman, person to act as chairman, members or member of the tribunal in question.

A panel may be constituted under this section for the purposes either of a single tribunal or of two or more tribunals, whether or not of the same description.

In relation to any of the tribunals referred to in this section which sits in Scotland, this section shall have effect with the substitution for any reference to the Lord Chancellor of a reference to the Lord President of the Court of Session.

F11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This section does not apply to any tribunal specified in paragraph 3 F15. . ., 12, 14 F1615(f), 17, 18 F15. . ., 26, 33(a), F1733AA. . . 34, 35 F18. . . (e) F19F20(i), (j), (k) or (l), 36(a) F2136AF22. . . , 39(b), 40, F23 48 or 56(a)F24 or 57A of Schedule 1.

F25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The power of a Minister, the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or the Foreign Compensation Commission to make, approve, confirm or concur in procedural rules for any tribunal specified in Schedule 1 shall be exercisable only after consultation with the Council.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Council shall consult the Scottish Committee in relation to the exercise of their functions under this section F28 with respect to any tribunal specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1

In this section “procedural rules” includes any statutory provision relating to the procedure of the tribunal in question.

The Lord Chancellor, after consultation with the Council, may make rules regulating the procedure to be followed in connection with statutory inquiries held by or on behalf of Ministers; and different provision may be made by any such rules in relation to different classes of such inquiries.

Any rules made by the Lord Chancellor under this section shall have effect, in relation to any statutory inquiry, subject to the provisions of the enactment under which the inquiry is held, and of any rules or regulations made under that enactment.

Subject to subsection (2), rules made under this section may regulate procedure in connection with matters preparatory to such statutory inquiries as are mentioned in subsection (1), and in connection with matters subsequent to such inquiries, as well as in connection with the conduct of proceedings at such inquiries.

The Council, in exercising their functions under this section in relation to inquiries to be held in Wales, shall consult with the Welsh Committee.

In the application of this section to inquiries held in Northern Ireland, the power to make rules is exercisable by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland (and not by the Lord Chancellor) so far as the power may be used to make Northern Ireland devolved provision.

The statement referred to in subsection (1) may be refused, or the specification of the reasons restricted, on grounds of national security.

A tribunal or Minister may refuse to furnish a statement under subsection (1) to a person not primarily concerned with the decision if of the opinion that to furnish it would be contrary to the interests of any person primarily concerned.

Subsection (1) does not apply to any decision taken by a Minister after the holding by him or on his behalf of an inquiry or hearing which is a statutory inquiry by virtue only of an order made under section 16(2) unless the order contains a direction that this section is to apply in relation to any inquiry or hearing to which the order applies.

Any statement of the reasons for a decision referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), whether given in pursuance of that subsection or of any other statutory provision, shall be taken to form part of the decision and accordingly to be incorporated in the record.

Where an order relating to any decisions has been made under subsection (7), the Lord Chancellor F33. . . may, by a subsequent order made after consultation with the Council, revoke or vary the earlier order so that subsection (1) applies to any of those decisions.

Subject to subsection (2), if any party to proceedings before any tribunal specified in paragraph 8, F3515(a) or (d), 16, F36. . ., 24, 26, 31, 33(b), 37 F37, 40A . . .F38. . . or 45 of Schedule 1 is dissatisfied in point of law with a decision of the tribunal he may, according as rules of court may provide, either appeal from the tribunal to the High Court or require the tribunal to state and sign a case for the opinion of the High Court.

Rules of court made with respect to all or any of the tribunals referred to in subsection (1) may provide for authorising or requiring a tribunal, in the course of proceedings before it, to state, in the form of a special case for the decision of the High Court, any question of law arising in the proceedings; and a decision of the High Court on a case stated by virtue of this subsection shall be deemed to be a judgment of the Court within the meaning of section 16 of the M2F44Senior Courts Act 1981(jurisdiction of Court of Appeal to hear and determine appeals from judgments of the High Court).

An appeal to the Court of Appeal shall not be brought by virtue of this section except with the leave of the High Court or the Court of Appeal.

F45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that all or any of the provisions of this section, so far as it relates to proceedings in the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands of the tribunal specified in paragraph 45 of Schedule 1, shall extend to the Isle of Man or to any of the Channel Islands subject to such modifications as may be specified in the Order.

In this section “decision” includes any direction or order, and references to the giving of a decision shall be construed accordingly.

The Lord Chancellor F49. . . may by order amend Part I or Part II of Schedule 1 by adding to that Part any such tribunals, other than any of the ordinary courts of law, as may be provided by the order.

The Lord Chancellor F49. . . may by order make provision, as respects any tribunal for the time being specified in Schedule 1, not being a tribunal mentioned in section 6, for amending that section so as to apply any of the provisions of that section to the tribunal or for providing for the appointment by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Court of Session or the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland of the chairman of the tribunal and of any person to be appointed to act as chairman.

The Lord Chancellor F49. . . may by order amend section 11 so as to apply that section to any tribunal for the time being specified in Schedule 1.

Any order under subsection (1), (2) or (3) may make any such adaptations of the provisions of this Act as may be necessary or expedient in consequence of the order.

In relation to Northern Ireland, any power to make an order under this section is exercisable by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland (and not by any Minister of the Crown) so far as the power may be used to make Northern Ireland devolved provision; and this section is to be read accordingly.

Nothing in this section authorises the making of an order with respect to a tribunal having jurisdiction only over matters with respect to which the Parliament of Northern Ireland had power to make laws.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For the purposes of this Act, the functions of the Civil Aviation Authority referred to in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 are to be taken to be confined to those prescribed for the purposes of section 7(2) of the M6Civil Aviation Act 1982.

Any power of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate or either of them to make rules or orders under this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any rules or orders made by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland under this Act shall be made by statutory rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 M7 and shall be subject to negative resolution within the meaning of section 41(6) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 M8.

In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

• “decision”, “procedural rules” and “working”, in relation to a tribunal, shall be construed subject to section 14,

• F60“Council” means the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council,

• F61“enactment” includes an Act of the Scottish Parliament,

• “Minister” includes F62the F63Welsh Ministers and any Board presided over by a Minister,

• F64“Northern Ireland devolved provision” means provision which could be made by an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly without the consent of the Secretary of State (see sections 6 to 8 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998),

• F65 “Scottish Committee” means the Scottish Committee of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council,

• “statutory inquiry” means—

  1. a

     an inquiry or hearing held or to be held in pursuance of a duty imposed by any statutory provision, or

  2. b

     an inquiry or hearing, or an inquiry or hearing of a class, designated for the purposes of this section by an order under subsection (2), and

• “statutory provision” means a provision contained in, or having effect under, any enactment,

• F66“Welsh Committee” means the Welsh Committee of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council.

The Lord Chancellor F67. . . may by order designate for the purposes of this section any inquiry or hearing held or to be held in pursuance of a power conferred by any statutory provision specified or described in the order, or any class of such inquiries or hearings.

In relation to inquiries or hearings held or to be held in Northern Ireland, the power to make an order under subsection (2) is exercisable by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland (and not by any Minister of the Crown) so far as the power may be used to make Northern Ireland devolved provision; and subsection (2) is to be read accordingly.

References in this Act to members of tribunals include references to the person constituting a tribunal consisting of one person.

The enactments specified in Schedule 3 shall have effect subject to the amendments there specified, being amendments consequential on this Act.

The enactments specified in Part I of Schedule 4 are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Part; and the orders specified in Part II of that Schedule are hereby revoked.

Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of Schedule 3 to the M9Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971, section 3(12)(a) of the M10Lands Tribunal Act 1949 shall continue to have effect with the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph—

This Act may be cited as the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992.

This Act shall come into force on 1st October 1992.

This Act extends to Northern Ireland.