The hearing
7.—(1) Any hearing of an appeal shall be heard by a tribunal composed in accordance with section 128(2A), (2B) and (2C), or section 128(6), of the 1978 Act.
(2) Any hearing of or in connection with an appeal shall take place in public except where a Minister of the Crown has directed a tribunal to sit in private on grounds of national security in accordance with paragraph 1(4A) of Schedule 9 to the 1978 Act.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a tribunal may sit in private, if on the application of a party the tribunal considers it appropriate to do so, for the purpose of hearing evidence—
(a)which relates to matters of such a nature that it would be against the interests of national security to allow the evidence to be given in public, or
(b)hearing evidence from any person which in the opinion of the tribunal is likely to consist of information the disclosure of which would cause substantial injury to the undertaking of the appellant or of any undertaking in which he works for reasons other than its effect on negotiations with respect to any of the matters mentioned in section 244(1) of the 1992 Act.
(4) A member of the Council on Tribunals or of its Scottish Committee shall be entitled to attend any hearing in his capacity as such a member.