Statutory judicial bodies and tribunals Flashcards
What are tribunals?
- Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies dealing with administrative and regulatory cases. They do not have any jurisdiction in criminal matters.
- Cases may be started in a Tribunal or transferred between the County Court and the High Court, and tribunals (and vice versa).
How many tribunal levels are there?
- There are two Tribunal levels: the First Tier Tribunal, and the Upper Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal is a senior court and is equivalent to the High Court. The Upper Tribunal hears appeals from the First Tier Tribunal.
Which act created the current tribunal system?
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
How many first tier tribunals are there, and what are they known as?
Seven first their tribunals known as chambers
What are the first tier tribunals?
· War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber
· Social Entitlement Chamber
· Health, Education and Social Care Chamber
· General Regulatory Chamber
· Tax Chamber
· Immigration and Asylum Chamber
· Property Chamber
Is the employment tribunal at first tier level?
Yes, but it is not a chamber of the first tier tribunals
How many chambers are there in the Upper Tribunal?
4
What are the 4 different chambers in the Upper Tribunal?
Administrative Appeals Chamber, Tax and Chancery Chamber, Immigration and Asylum Chamber and Lands Chamber
What is a tribunal/ chamber president responsible for?
Responsible for the day-to-day judicial administration of their tribunal or their chamber.
They act as a vital link between the Senior President of Tribunals; the judicial officers of their tribunal, and the senior judiciary outside the Tribunals Service.
What is a tribunal judge responsible for?
Tribunal judges are legally qualified and responsible for ensuring the individual tribunal hearings they chair make the correct decision in law.
What is a tribunal member responsible for?
Tribunal members are the specialist non-legal members of the panel hearing the case. Not every panel includes non-legal members.
What happens at the Coroner’s Courts?
- Coroners investigate all deaths where the cause is unknown, or where there is reason to think it was not due to natural causes. Coroners’ investigations are called ‘inquests’.
- Coroners will hear evidence from people involved in events leading up to the death of the deceased. Inquests are not as formal as court hearings, although the parties may be represented by lawyers and there may be examination of witnesses. Juries will be convened to decide the cause of death in some cases, notably when the deceased died in state custody.
- Coroners do require legal experience, but they are not considered to be members of the judiciary. Coroners are barristers, solicitors or medical practitioners of not less than five years standing, who continue in their legal or medical practices when not sitting as coroners.
- A Coroner’s decision is called a ‘verdict’.
What are public inquiries?
- Public inquiries are major investigations, convened by government departments, that are given special statutory powers to compel testimony and the release of other forms of evidence.
- The only justification required for a public inquiry is the existence of “public concern” about a particular event or set of events.
- Notable recent inquiries include the public inquiry into the Grenfell disaster
- Inquiries allow members of the public to appear as ‘third parties’ and challenge the evidence given by the local authority and the developer.
If a public inquiry is held under the Inquiries Act 2005, what powers does the inquiry have?
- legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence
- legal safeguards and procedures
- there is nothing to compel the gov to act on the recommendations of a statutory public inquiry
