Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Type Public General Act

Publication 2007-07-19

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API

Part 1 — Tribunals and Inquiries

Chapter 1 — Tribunal judiciary: independence and Senior President

Transfer of powers to make procedural rules for certain tribunals

1

In section 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) (guarantee of continued judicial independence), after subsection (7) insert—

(7A) In this section “the judiciary” also includes every person who— (a) holds an office listed in Schedule 14 or holds an office listed in subsection (7B), and (b) but for this subsection would not be a member of the judiciary for the purposes of this section. (7B) The offices are those of— (a) Senior President of Tribunals; (b) President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland); (c) Vice President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland); (d) member of a panel of chairmen of Employment Tribunals (Scotland); (e) member of a panel of members of employment tribunals that is not a panel of chairmen; (f) adjudicator appointed under section 5 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995.

Senior President of Tribunals

2

(1) Her Majesty may, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, appoint a person to the office of Senior President of Tribunals.

(2) Schedule 1 makes further provision about the Senior President of Tribunals and about recommendations for appointment under subsection (1).

(3) A holder of the office of Senior President of Tribunals must, in carrying out the functions of that office, have regard to—

(a) the need for tribunals to be accessible,

(b) the need for proceedings before tribunals—

(i) to be fair, and

(ii) to be handled quickly and efficiently,

(c) the need for members of tribunals to be experts in the subject-matter of, or the law to be applied in, cases in which they decide matters, and

(d) the need to develop innovative methods of resolving disputes that are of a type that may be brought before tribunals.

(4) In subsection (3) “tribunals” means—

(a) the First-tier Tribunal,

(b) the Upper Tribunal,

(d) the Employment Appeal Tribunal, . . .

(e) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 2 — First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal

Establishment

The First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal

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(1) There is to be a tribunal, known as the First-tier Tribunal, for the purpose of exercising the functions conferred on it under or by virtue of this Act or any other Act.

(2) There is to be a tribunal, known as the Upper Tribunal, for the purpose of exercising the functions conferred on it under or by virtue of this Act or any other Act.

(3) Each of the First-tier Tribunal, and the Upper Tribunal, is to consist of its judges and other members.

(4) The Senior President of Tribunals is to preside over both of the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal.

(5) The Upper Tribunal is to be a superior court of record.

Members and composition of tribunals

Judges and other members of the First-tier Tribunal

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(1) A person is a judge of the First-tier Tribunal if the person—

(a) is a judge of the First-tier Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 2,

(b) is a transferred-in judge of the First-tier Tribunal (see section 31(2)),

(ca) is within section 6A,

(d) . . . or

(e) is a member of a panel of Employment Judges.

(2) A person is also a judge of the First-tier Tribunal, but only as regards functions of the tribunal in relation to appeals such as are mentioned in subsection (1) of section 5 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 (c. 53), if the person is an adjudicator appointed under that section by the Scottish Ministers.

(3) A person is one of the other members of the First-tier Tribunal if the person—

(a) is a member of the First-tier Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 2,

(b) is a transferred-in other member of the First-tier Tribunal (see section 31(2)),

(d) is a member of a panel of members of employment tribunals that is not a panel of Employment Judges.

(4) Schedule 2—

contains provision for the appointment of persons to be judges or other members of the First-tier Tribunal, and

makes further provision in connection with judges and other members of the First-tier Tribunal.

Judges and other members of the Upper Tribunal

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(1) A person is a judge of the Upper Tribunal if the person—

(a) is the Senior President of Tribunals,

(b) is a judge of the Upper Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3,

(ca) is a judge of the First-tier Tribunal,

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) is the Chief Social Security Commissioner, or any other Social Security Commissioner, appointed under section 50(1) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8),

(f) is a Social Security Commissioner appointed under section 50(2) of that Act (deputy Commissioners),

(g) is within section 6(1),

(h) is a deputy judge of the Upper Tribunal (whether under paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 or under section 31(2)), or

(i) is a Chamber President or a Deputy Chamber President, whether of a chamber of the Upper Tribunal or of a chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, and does not fall within any of paragraphs (a) to (h).

(2) A person is one of the other members of the Upper Tribunal if the person—

(a) is a member of the Upper Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 3,

(b) is a transferred-in other member of the Upper Tribunal (see section 31(2)), or

(c) is a member of the Employment Appeal Tribunal appointed under section 22(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (c. 17), . . .

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Schedule 3—

contains provision for the appointment of persons to be judges (including deputy judges), or other members, of the Upper Tribunal, and

makes further provision in connection with judges and other members of the Upper Tribunal.

Certain judges who are also judges of First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal

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(1) A person is within this subsection (and so, by virtue of sections 4(1)(c) and 5(1)(g), is a judge of the First-tier Tribunal and of the Upper Tribunal) if the person—

(za) is the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales,

(zb) is the Master of the Rolls,

(zc) is the President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court in England and Wales,

(zd) is the President of the Family Division of the High Court in England and Wales,

(ze) is the Chancellor of the High Court in England and Wales,

(a) is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales (including the vice-president, if any, of either division of that Court),

(b) is a Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland,

(d) is a puisne judge of the High Court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland,

(da) is a deputy judge of the High Court in England and Wales,

(db) is the Judge Advocate General,

(e) is a circuit judge,

(ea) is a Recorder,

(f) is a sheriff in Scotland,

(g) is a county court judge in Northern Ireland,

(h) is a district judge in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, ...

(i) is a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts).

(j) is the President of Employment Tribunals (England and Wales),

(k) is the President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland),

(l) is the Vice President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland), or

(m) is a Regional Employment Judge.

(2) References in subsection (1)(c) to (i) to office-holders do not include deputies or temporary office-holders.

Chambers: jurisdiction and Presidents

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(1) The Lord Chancellor may, with the concurrence of the Senior President of Tribunals, by order make provision for the organisation of each of the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal into a number of chambers.

(2) There is—

(a) for each chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, and

(b) for each chamber of the Upper Tribunal,

to be a person, or two persons, to preside over that chamber.

(3) A person may at a particular time—

(a) preside over more than one chamber of the First-tier Tribunal;

(b) preside over more than one chamber of the Upper Tribunal;

(i) one or more chambers of the First-tier Tribunal, and

(ii) one or more chambers of the Upper Tribunal.

(4) A person appointed under this section to preside over a chamber is to be known as a Chamber President.

(5) Where two persons are appointed under this section to preside over the same chamber, any reference in an enactment to the Chamber President of the chamber is a reference to a person appointed under this section to preside over the chamber.

(6) The Senior President of Tribunals may (consistently with subsection (2)) appoint a person who is the Chamber President of a chamber to preside instead, or to preside also, over another chamber.

(7) The Senior President of Tribunals may (consistently with subsection (2)) appoint a person who is not a Chamber President to preside over a chamber.

(8) Schedule 4 (eligibility for appointment under subsection (7), appointment of Deputy Chamber Presidents and Acting Chamber Presidents, assignment of judges and other members of the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, and further provision about Chamber Presidents and chambers) has effect.

(9) Each of the Lord Chancellor and the Senior President of Tribunals may, with the concurrence of the other, by order—

(a) make provision for the allocation of the First-tier Tribunal's functions between its chambers;

(b) make provision for the allocation of the Upper Tribunal's functions between its chambers;

Senior President of Tribunals: power to delegate

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(1) The Senior President of Tribunals may delegate any function he has in his capacity as Senior President of Tribunals—

(a) to any judge, or other member, of the Upper Tribunal or First-tier Tribunal;

(b) to staff appointed under section 40(1).

(1A) A function under paragraph 1(1) or 2(1) of Schedule 2 may be delegated under subsection (1) only to a Chamber President of a chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to functions of the Senior President of Tribunals under any of the following—

section 7(7);

section 7(9);

section 29B;

section 29D;

paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 3;

paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 3;

paragraph 2 of Schedule 4;

paragraph 5(1) and (3) of Schedule 4;

paragraph 5(5) to (8) of Schedule 4;

paragraph 5A(2)(a) of Schedule 4;

paragraph 5A(3)(a) of Schedule 4.

paragraph 3 of Schedule 5;

paragraph 2 of Schedule A1 to the Employment Tribunals Act 1996.

(3) A delegation under subsection (1) is not revoked by the delegator's becoming incapacitated.

(4) Any delegation under subsection (1) that is in force immediately before a person ceases to be Senior President of Tribunals continues in force until varied or revoked by a subsequent holder of the office of Senior President of Tribunals.

(5) The delegation under this section of a function shall not prevent the exercise of the function by the Senior President of Tribunals.

Review of decisions and appeals

Review of decision of First-tier Tribunal

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(1) The First-tier Tribunal may review a decision made by it on a matter in a case, other than a decision that is an excluded decision for the purposes of section 11(1) (but see subsection (9)).

(2) The First-tier Tribunal's power under subsection (1) in relation to a decision is exercisable—

(a) of its own initiative, or

(b) on application by a person who for the purposes of section 11(2) has a right of appeal in respect of the decision.

(3) Tribunal Procedure Rules may—

(a) provide that the First-tier Tribunal may not under subsection (1) review (whether of its own initiative or on application under subsection (2)(b)) a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules;

(b) provide that the First-tier Tribunal's power under subsection (1) to review a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules is exercisable only of the tribunal's own initiative;

(c) provide that an application under subsection (2)(b) that is of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules may be made only on grounds specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules;

(d) provide, in relation to a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules, that the First-tier Tribunal's power under subsection (1) to review the decision of its own initiative is exercisable only on grounds specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules.

(4) Where the First-tier Tribunal has under subsection (1) reviewed a decision, the First-tier Tribunal may in the light of the review do any of the following—

(a) correct accidental errors in the decision or in a record of the decision;

(b) amend reasons given for the decision;

(5) Where under subsection (4)(c) the First-tier Tribunal sets a decision aside, the First-tier Tribunal must either—

(a) re-decide the matter concerned, or

(b) refer that matter to the Upper Tribunal.

(6) Where a matter is referred to the Upper Tribunal under subsection (5)(b), the Upper Tribunal must re-decide the matter.

(7) Where the Upper Tribunal is under subsection (6) re-deciding a matter, it may make any decision which the First-tier Tribunal could make if the First-tier Tribunal were re-deciding the matter.

(8) Where a tribunal is acting under subsection (5)(a) or (6), it may make such findings of fact as it considers appropriate.

(9) This section has effect as if a decision under subsection (4)(c) to set aside an earlier decision were not an excluded decision for the purposes of section 11(1), but the First-tier Tribunal's only power in the light of a review under subsection (1) of a decision under subsection (4)(c) is the power under subsection (4)(a).

(10) A decision of the First-tier Tribunal may not be reviewed under subsection (1) more than once, and once the First-tier Tribunal has decided that an earlier decision should not be reviewed under subsection (1) it may not then decide to review that earlier decision under that subsection.

(11) Where under this section a decision is set aside and the matter concerned is then re-decided, the decision set aside and the decision made in re-deciding the matter are for the purposes of subsection (10) to be taken to be different decisions.

Review of decision of Upper Tribunal

10

(1) The Upper Tribunal may review a decision made by it on a matter in a case, other than a decision that is an excluded decision for the purposes of section 13(1) (but see subsection (7)).

(2) The Upper Tribunal's power under subsection (1) in relation to a decision is exercisable—

(a) of its own initiative, or

(b) on application by a person who for the purposes of section 13(2) has a right of appeal in respect of the decision.

(3) Tribunal Procedure Rules may—

(a) provide that the Upper Tribunal may not under subsection (1) review (whether of its own initiative or on application under subsection (2)(b)) a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules;

(b) provide that the Upper Tribunal's power under subsection (1) to review a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules is exercisable only of the tribunal's own initiative;

(c) provide that an application under subsection (2)(b) that is of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules may be made only on grounds specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules;

(d) provide, in relation to a decision of a description specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules, that the Upper Tribunal's power under subsection (1) to review the decision of its own initiative is exercisable only on grounds specified for the purposes of this paragraph in Tribunal Procedure Rules.

(4) Where the Upper Tribunal has under subsection (1) reviewed a decision, the Upper Tribunal may in the light of the review do any of the following—

(a) correct accidental errors in the decision or in a record of the decision;

(b) amend reasons given for the decision;

(5) Where under subsection (4)(c) the Upper Tribunal sets a decision aside, the Upper Tribunal must re-decide the matter concerned.

(6) Where the Upper Tribunal is acting under subsection (5), it may make such findings of fact as it considers appropriate.

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