Holding of Public Inquiries
18.—(1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that it is expedient in the public interest to hold a Public Inquiry into the circumstances and causes of an accident to which these Regulations apply or into any particular matter relating to the avoidance of such accidents in the future, he may direct that a Public Inquiry be held by a Commissioner appointed by the Lord Chancellor. In any such case any investigation relating to the accident or to the particular matter, as the case may be, shall be discontinued except for the purpose of rendering assistance as required by paragraph (3) below.
(2) The Commissioner (hereinafter called “the Court”) shall be a judge or a barrister of not less than ten years standing and shall be assisted by not fewer than two Assessors possessing aeronautical, engineering or other special skills or knowledge. The Assessors shall be appointed by the Lord Chancellor.
(3) Where the Secretary of State has directed a Public Inquiry to be held, he shall remit the case to the Attorney-General, and thereafter the preparation and presentation of the case shall be conducted by the Treasury Solicitor under the direction of the Attorney-General; the Chief Inspector shall render such assistance to the Court and to the Attorney-General as is in his power.
(4) When the Secretary of State has directed a Public Inquiry to be held, the Attorney-General shall cause a notice of the date, time and place and the nature of the Public Inquiry to be served upon the owner, operator, hirer and commander of any aircraft involved in the accident and on any other person who in his opinion ought to be served with such notice.
(5) The Attorney-General, the owner, the operator, the hirer, the commander and any other person upon whom a notice of inquiry has been served under paragraph (4) above, shall be deemed to be parties to the proceedings.
(6) Any other person may by leave of the Court appear, and any person who obtains leave to appear shall thereupon become a party to the proceedings. Any application for such leave may be made to the Court at a preliminary meeting.
(7) At any time before the date appointed for holding the inquiry, the Court may hold a preliminary meeting at which any directions may be given or any preliminary or interlocutory order as to the procedure may be made. Notice of the date, time and place of the preliminary meeting shall be given by the Treasury Solicitor to the parties to the proceedings and to any other person who has notified the Treasury Solicitor that he intends to apply to the Court for leave to appear. Any person intending to make an application to the Court at the meeting shall give notice thereof to the Treasury Solicitor.
(8) The Court shall have, for the purposes of the inquiry, all the powers of a Magistrate’s Court, and without prejudice to those powers, the Court may–
(a)enter and inspect, or authorise any person to enter and inspect, any place, building or aircraft the entry or inspection whereof appears to the Court to be requisite for the purposes of the inquiry;
(b)by summons require the attendance as witnesses of all such persons as the Court thinks fit to call and examine, and require such persons to answer any question or furnish any information or produce any books, papers, documents and articles which the Court may consider relevant;
(c)administer an oath to or require a solemn affirmation from any such witness.
The Assessors shall have the same power of entry and inspection as the Court.
(9) Affidavits and statutory declarations may, by permission of the Court, be used as evidence at the hearing.
(10) At the time and place appointed for holding the inquiry the Court may proceed with the inquiry whether the parties, upon whom a notice of inquiry has been served or who have obtained leave to appear, or any of them, are present or not.
(11) The Court shall hold the inquiry in public Court save to the extent to which the Court directs, in relation to any part of the evidence or any argument relating thereto, that the inquiry be held in private in the interest of justice or in the public interest.
(12) The Inspector who carried out or, before its discontinuance under paragraph (1) above, was carrying out an investigation into an accident to which the inquiry relates and a member of the Council on Tribunals, or in the case of an inquiry held in Scotland, a member of the Scottish Committee of that Council shall be entitled to be present at any proceedings of the Court held in private.