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20 March, 2020 Open access

Contingency Arrangements in the First-Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Senior President of Tribunals issues Practice Directions for hearings to be decided without a hearing whenever possible

The Senior President of Tribunals has issued two Pilot Practice Directions setting out contingency arrangements in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Introducing the Practice Directions, Senior President of Tribunals Sir Ernest Ryder says -

‘During the Covid-19 pandemic, it may be necessary for tribunals to adjust their ways of working to limit the spread of the virus and manage their workloads appropriately. I have therefore decided to issue this Practice Direction on a pilot basis for a period of six months, although it may be reviewed within that period should it become inappropriate or unnecessary and may be revoked at any time.’

The first of the two Directions - Contingency Arrangements in the First-Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal - advises that -

‘Where a Chamber’s procedure rules allow decisions to be made without a hearing, decisions should usually be made in this way, provided this is in accordance with the overriding objective, the parties’ European Convention on Human Rights and the Chamber’s procedure rules about notice and consent.’

In addition, the Direction provides guidance to Chamber Presidents on how to operate a scheme to ‘triage’ appeals and application where paper determinations are possible, including for tribunals to -

In the second Practice Direction - Panel Composition in the First-Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal - guidance to tribunals includes -

For more information see Contingency arrangements and Panel Composition Pilot Practice Directions from judiciary.uk

NB - in addition, guidance on continuity arrangements in all civil courts and/or tribunals has been issued by the Lord  Chief Justice for England and Wales, Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland and the Lord President of the Court of Session in Scotland.