The Child Support Appeal Tribunals (Procedure) Regulations 1992

Hearings

11.—(1) A tribunal shall hold an oral hearing of every appeal, and may hold an oral hearing of an application, and subject to the provisions of the Act and of these Regulations the procedure in connection with the hearing shall be such as the chairman shall determine.

(2) Not less than 10 days' notice (beginning with the day on which it is given and ending on the day before the hearing) of the time and place of any hearing shall be given to every party to the proceedings, and if such notice has not been given to a person to whom it should have been given under the provisions of this paragraph the hearing may proceed only with the consent of that person.

(3) At any hearing any party to the proceedings shall be entitled to be present and be heard.

(4) Any person entitled to be heard at a hearing may address the tribunal, give evidence, call witnesses and put questions directly to any other party to the proceedings, to any representative of the child support officer or to any other person called as a witness.

(5) A tribunal may require any witness to give evidence on oath or affirmation and for that purpose there may be administered an oath or affirmation in due form.

(6) If a party to the proceedings to whom notice has been given under paragraph (2) fails to appear at the hearing the tribunal may, having regard to all the circumstances including any explanation offered for the absence, proceed with the appeal notwithstanding his absence or give such directions with a view to the determination of the appeal as it may think proper.

(7) Any hearing before the tribunal shall be in private unless the chairman directs that the hearing, or part of it, shall be in public.

(8) The following persons shall also be entitled to be present at a hearing even though it is in private–

(a) the President, any full-time chairman and the clerk to the tribunal;

(b) any person undergoing training as a chairman or other member of the tribunal or as a clerk to the tribunal;

(c) any person acting on behalf of the President in the training or supervision of clerks to tribunals;

(d) a member of the Council on Tribunals or of the Scottish Committee of the Council;

(e) any person undergoing training as a child support officer or as the representative of a child support officer and any person acting on behalf of the Chief Child Support Officer or the Secretary of State in the training or supervision of child support officers or representatives of child support officers or in the monitoring of standards of adjudication by child support officers;

(f) with leave of the chairman and the consent of every party to the proceedings actually present, any other person.

(9) For the purposes of arriving at its decision a tribunal shall, and for the purposes of discussing any question of procedure may, notwithstanding anything contained in these Regulations, order all persons to withdraw from the sitting of the tribunal other than the members of the tribunal, any of the persons mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph (8) and, with the leave of the chairman and if no party to the proceedings actually present objects, any of the persons mentioned in sub-paragraphs (c) and (f) of that paragraph.

(10) None of the persons mentioned in paragraph (8) shall take any part in the hearing or (where entitled or permitted to remain) in the deliberations of the tribunal.