tribunals Flashcards
what are tribunals
specialists courts that operate outside the mainstream civil courts structure , a method that has grown because of the vast amount of welfare legislation after WW2
tribunals workload
tribunals deal with 6 or 7 times the amount of the civil courts
how many tribunals are there and how many cases do they deal with
70 - all own regulations
1 million
tribunals are diverse meaning
they deal with all manners of cases some rarely here cases some hear thousands
what are the two tiers
1- where cases are heard
2- where appeals are heard
examples of tribunals
- mental health review tribunal
- employment tribunal
how are tribunals different to the civil courts
Deal with one area of the law and sometimes only one statute e.g.
mental health tribunal
mental health act
less formal more specialised more efficient and cheaper
what do some tribunals have
an internal appeal system, no appeals at all some have to appeal to the high court or CoA
how are tribunals more flexible
not binding to each other meant to adopt a more formal and flexible approach
however employment tribunal is more legalistic
administrative and domestic tribunals
set up by legislation and tend to deal with claims relating to the particular rights and duties that have been created by a statute
what claims do administrative and domestic tribunals deal with
disputes over the decision of a government official or department but also the specific rights established by legislation
who sits on a tribunal
staffed by three persons
a legally qualified chairperson
two lay assessors- people appointed for their experience and expertise
who sits on an employment tribunal
lay assessor with a management background and one trade union background
advantages
cheaper alternative- parties rep selves
faster cases can be dealt with in a day
lay members expertise
disadvantages
high volume of cases - delay
no public funding - unfair
some are held in private- against open justice
