Tribunals Flashcards
What do tribunals act as?
Important part of the legal system
Act as ‘specialist Cts’ for disputes in specialised areas
Mainly concerning welfare + social rights
e.g. employment disputes = often resolved by tribunals
What are the 3 types of tribunals?
- Administrative (between individuals + state)
- Domestic (Private bodies)
- Employment (between employees + employers)
What type of disputes do administrative tribunals deal with?
Used for disputes between individuals + state over rights contained in social welfare legislation
e.g. social security, immigration
What types of disputes do domestic tribunals deal with?
These are internal tribunals
Used for disputes within private bodies
Such as the Law society or the General Medical Council
What types of disputes do employment tribunals deal with?
= biggest use of tribunals
Deal with disputes between employees + employers over rights under employment legislation
How many people does a tribunal usually consist of?
3
1 neutral chairperson
1 representative from each side - usually a union representative/ specialist in the field
What is the main difference between tribunals and arbitration?
Like ADR, tribunals = often seen as an alternative to the Cts
Main difference = if a case fails at the tribunal stage, there is NO redress to the Cts
Whereas if any other form of ADR fails, parties still get the option of going to Ct to resolve their dispute
Where do tribunals date back to?
Date back to the birth of the welfare state
Established to give people a way of making sure their rights were enforced
When tribunals were 1st introduced, how many different types were there?
What did this lead to?
= 70+ different tribunals
All had different procedures + administrations
Led to over-complecation
Users felt intimidated + confused by the system
What did The Franks Committee recommend in 1957?
When was the implanted?
The tribunal system should be an example of ‘openness, fairness and impartiality’
Was implemented by the Tribunals and Inquires Act 1958
Why was the Council on Tribunals set up in 1958?
Established to supervise + review tribunal procedures
Council = body that would deal with complaints + submitted recommendations for reform
BUT = heavily criticised for being a ‘watchdog with no teeth’
- Had little power to make changes
Who released the report entitled ‘Tribunals for Users - One System, One service’ in 2000?
What did it state?
Sir Andrew Leggatt
Was very critical of the tribunal system stating: it lacked independence, coherence + wasn’t user friendly
Made 4 recommendations
What are the 4 reforms suggested by Sir Andrew Leggatt in his report in 2000?
- Single T service responsible for administration for all Ts (makes service independent from relevant G department)
- T should be organised into divisions, grouping together similar T e.g. education, transport (each ÷ headed by Registrar, takes on case management duties in line with Civil Procedure rules)
- System should be user friendly (written judgements given in plain English)
- Single route of appeal
What did Sir Andrew Leggatt’s suggestions of reform lead to?
Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
Formalised + implements many of Laggett’s reforms
System has been radically streamlined - now only 2 tribunals (1st tier and upper tribunals)
What cases do 1st Tier Tribunals hear?
Hears cases at ‘1st instance stage’ in specialist areas
What is the composition of 1st Tier Tribunals?
Consists of different chambers with similar procedures + jurisdiction
Some include: Social Entitlement Chamber
What is the composition of Upper Tribunals?
Consists of 4 different chambers
Including Administrative Appeals Chamber
Whats cases do Upper Tribunals hear?
Appeals from 1st Tier
+ in some complex cases will act within a 1st instance jurisdiction
Upper Tribunals are responsible for hearing appeals from the 1st Tier
Is there any further right to appeal?
Yes = further right to appeal to CA
However, rarely used; of well structured system
For the 1st time ever, what will Upper Tribunals have the power to do?
Conduct a Judicial Review of a case which has been heard in the 1st Tier Tribunals
Thus minimising the need for the Cts to get involved in the case
What is a Judicial Review?
Procedure by which you can challenge a decision, act or failure to act of a public body such as G department of Ct
What appoints all members of judges working in new system will be appointed by?
Judicial Appointments Commission
+ therefore recognised as judges
Increases status of Ts
Who is the whole T system headed by?
What are they responsible for?
Senior President of T
= responsible for assigning judges to chambers, looking after their general welfare + helping with any issues that may rise
SP has power to issue practice decisions IOT help judges maintain a unified procedure across all chambers
What was the Council on Chambers replaced by?
Administrative Justice + Tribunals Council
= much more powerful than previous system in terms of reviewing the system, keeping it under control + advising the G on future reforms of T service
Are employment Ts included in the new structure?
Why is this?
No they’re not included in new structure; = felt the types of disputes they dealt with = very different from other T
This has led to employment T + appeals remain distinct from structure
What will occur from 29th July 2013 to employment Ts?
Why has this occurred?
All employment T claims + appeals = required to pay a fee
Due to fact that = biggest form of T + costs around £74 million per year to run
What are the 5 advantages of tribunals?
- Lower £ (parties encouraged to bring own case without representation, easier by ability app forms = online + more transparent service since reform)
- Expertise (@ least 1 member of T = expert in rel. field, saves time explaining technicalities to judges in Ct)
- Speed (duty of judge to take on case management duties IOT ensure maj cases = heard within a day)
- Formality (T = less formal than Cts, not as informal as ADR)
- Independence (; involvement of Judicial Appointment Commission in appointing judges, system = fairer + more transparent)
What are the 4 disadvantages of tribunals?
- Lack of funding (not available in many cases, can be detrimental to person taking on big company that can’t get ££ representation)
- Delay (if case = complex mature, can be delays in getting case heard)
- Lack of representation (T don’t operate on strict precedent system, sometimes element of unpredictability to outcomes of cases)
- Intimidated parties (parties still feel intimidated + daunted @ prospect of taking case to ‘Ct’ particularly without comfort of having legal representation)
