Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 - Draft Regulations Consultation

Part 6: Draft regulations providing for the composition of the Upper Tribunal when dealing with specified appeals

30. Section 40 of the 2014 Act confers a power on the Scottish Ministers to make provision, by way of regulations, for determining the composition of the Upper Tribunal when convened to decide any matter in a case before it.

31. The draft regulations in Annex E make provision for the composition of the Upper Tribunal when dealing with the appeals specified in the regulations. The appeals specified are those under section 39(6) of the 2001 Act in relation to a penalty imposed under any paragraph of section 39(1) except paragraph (d) (i.e. those appeals transferred by the draft regulations in Annex B), and the appeals made in relation to BSIP service standards decisions (i.e. those provided for in the draft regulations in Annex C).

32. Members of the Upper Tribunal can be ordinary members, legal members or judicial members. These draft regulations provide any of the following members may hear the appeals referred to in the paragraph above:

(a) a legal or judicial member of the Upper Tribunal acting alone, or

(b) two or three legal or judicial members of the Upper Tribunal, or

(c) the President of Tribunals, acting alone or with no more than two legal or judicial members of the Upper Tribunal.

33. Also, the draft regulations provide that the authority to determine the composition of the Upper Tribunal in respect of the alternative options above is delegated to the President of Tribunals.

Questions on the draft regulations providing for the composition of the Upper Tribunal when dealing with specified appeals

Q7: Do you have any comments on the draft regulations (Annex E) providing for the composition of the Upper Tribunal when dealing with the specified appeals?