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

Part 5: Draft Regulations Setting out the Eligibility for Membership of the First-tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber

Background

32. The draft regulations contained in Annex D prescribe eligibility criteria for ordinary members of the First-tier Tribunal. The criteria for ordinary ( i.e. non legal) members have been developed specifically to cover members assigned to the General Regulatory Chamber.

33. The criteria for legal membership of the First-tier Tribunal is generic across the Scottish Tribunals, and are already covered by the Scottish Tribunals (Eligibility for Appointment) Regulations 2015 ^[2] . Briefly, a person may only be appointed as a legal member if the person is practising and has practised for a period of not less than 5 years as a solicitor or advocate in Scotland. If a person is not currently practising in Scotland they must be subsequently engaged in exercising judicial functions in any court or tribunal, have had practice or employment as a lawyer of any kind or teaching or have been researching law at or for an educational institution.

Draft Regulations

34. The draft regulations contained within Annex D set out the criteria proposed to be applied by the Scottish Ministers in appointing ordinary members that hear cases within the General Regulatory Chamber.

35. The eligibility criteria for ordinary members are based on the eligibility criteria used in the job descriptions for SCAP members during the initial recruitment exercise. This ensures that all existing members who are under 70 are eligible to transfer into the First-tier Tribunal.

Questions on Eligibility Regulations

Q1: Do you have any comments on the proposals regarding the eligibility criteria for ordinary members with charity regulatory experience?

Q2: Are there any additional criteria you would wish to see prescribed?

Q3: Are there are proposed criteria that you do not wish to see prescribed?

Q4: Do you have any other comments you wish to make?