The General Optical Council (Fitness to Practise Rules) Order of Council 2005

PART 5 INTERIM ORDERS

Notification of application for interim order

17.  Where a matter has been referred to the Fitness to Practise Committee to consider the making of an interim order, the registrar shall serve on the registrant a notification that an application is to be made for an interim order, together with—

(a) the date of the interim order hearing;

(b) a statement of the facts constituting the basis of the application;

(c) the names of any witnesses upon whose evidence the Presenting Officer intends to rely and copies of any statements or reports made by the witnesses;

(d) copies of any documentary evidence upon which the Presenting Officer intends to rely; and

(e) the information set out at rule 26(2)(a) to (c).

Date of interim order hearing

18.  Unless the Fitness to Practise Committee are of the view that the public interest requires an earlier hearing, the interim order hearing shall take place no earlier than 7 days after the date upon which the notification was served on the registrant in accordance with rule 17.

Conduct of interim order hearings

19.—(1) Rules 8 to 12, 2O to 24, 35 to 43, 45 to 49 and 54(2) to 58, shall apply to an application for an interim order, and to interim order hearings, except that references in those Rules to an allegation shall be read as references to the matter to be determined by the Fitness to Practise Committee.

(2) An interim order hearing shall, for the purposes of this rule, be treated as a substantive hearing.