Transferring the Scottish Charity Appeals Panel to the Scottish Tribunals: consultation

Part 1: Background

1. The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) creates a new, simplified statutory framework for tribunals in Scotland, bringing existing tribunal jurisdictions together and providing a structure for new jurisdictions. The 2014 Act creates two new tribunals, the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (First-tier Tribunal) and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland (Upper Tribunal), known collectively as the Scottish Tribunals.

2. The Scottish Charity Appeals Panel ( SCAP) was established by the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, in order to hear appeals against certain decisions of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. The SCAP is a "listed tribunal", by virtue of inclusion in Schedule 1 to the 2014 Act at paragraph 2.

3. The functions of the listed tribunals are to be transferred in to the new tribunals structure, and the functions of the SCAP in particular are to be allocated to the new General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

4. The functions and members of the SCAP will transfer into the Scottish Tribunals system on 30 ^th November 2017, and become part of the General Regulatory Chamber. The SCAP as it presently stands will then be abolished.

5. The draft regulations are attached at Annexes A, B, C and D.

6. The draft regulations in Annex A provide for:

• The transfer of functions of the SCAP to the Scottish Tribunals;
• Transitional arrangements to regulate how cases pending, in progress and new cases will be dealt with;
• Consequential amendments and repeals required in light of the transfer of functions;
• The transfer of members of the SCAP to the Scottish Tribunals.

7. The draft regulations in Annex B set out the Rules of Procedure for the First-tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber Charity Appeals.

8. The draft regulations in Annex C set out the type and number of members who can hear cases in the First-tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber.

9. The draft regulations in Annex D set out the eligibility criteria for membership of the First-tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber.