The Tribunal system handles over a million cases each year. Although tribunals have been seen
as an unimportant part of the legal system, they play a major role dealing with fundamental
issues in people’s lives including housing, employment, education and others dealing with social
security and tax to forestry and patents. Employment tribunals are the best-known example.
Tribunals are distinguished from other courts by less formal procedures, and that they
specialize. Tribunals have to follow the principles of fair hearing and open and impartial
decision-making.
Following the Leggatt Review, there were significant plans to reform the tribunal system. These
reforms are contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Before that, tribunals
had been created by individual pieces of primary legislation without framework. The Leggatt
Review recommended that there should be a single tribunal service. The act creates two new,
generic tribunals: The First-Tier Tribunal to hear cases at first instance, and an Upper Tribunal to
hear appeals. The Act gives the Lord Chancellor power to transfer the jurisdiction of existing
tribunals to the two new tribunals and creates a new, simplified statutory framework for tribunals
to provide coherence.
The First-Tier Tribunal operates in seven chambers: The Social Entitlement Chamber, the
Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, the War Pensions and Armed Forces
Compensation Chamber, the Tax Chamber, the Property Chamber, the Immigration and Asylum
Chamber and the General Regulatory Chamber. Many of the cases will be heard in centres
locally. The Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal share administrative
arrangements of the new tribunals but will operate separately. The Upper Tribunal is divided into
four chambers: the Administrative Appeals Chamber, the Tax and Chancery Chamber, the
Lands Chamber and the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Each chamber is headed by a
Chamber President while the tribunals’ judiciary is headed by a Senior President of Tribunals.
All tribunals that fall within the responsibility of central government will be administered by Her
Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service. The Council on Tribunals was abolished and replaced by
the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council. This was given a broader remit. The new
Council has to supervise the tribunals to the old council but also to keep the administrative
justice system as a whole under review. Since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of
Offenders Act 2012, fees must be paid to resolve cases in tribunals. The government also
introduced fee remissions for individuals who rely on state benefits or whose household income
falls below a financial threshold.
Under the 2007 Act, a new Tribunal Procedure Committee has been established. It has
produced a unified set of procedural rules for the tribunals, which are heavily influenced by the
civil procedural rules introduced by Lord Woolf. For example, the new rules contain a similar
overriding objective.
Most tribunals consist of a judge and two lay people with some expertise in the relevant subject
area. The lay members take an active part in decision-making. Tribunals composed entirely of
lay people are considered to be less effective than those with a judge. Normally cases will be
as an unimportant part of the legal system, they play a major role dealing with fundamental
issues in people’s lives including housing, employment, education and others dealing with social
security and tax to forestry and patents. Employment tribunals are the best-known example.
Tribunals are distinguished from other courts by less formal procedures, and that they
specialize. Tribunals have to follow the principles of fair hearing and open and impartial
decision-making.
Following the Leggatt Review, there were significant plans to reform the tribunal system. These
reforms are contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. Before that, tribunals
had been created by individual pieces of primary legislation without framework. The Leggatt
Review recommended that there should be a single tribunal service. The act creates two new,
generic tribunals: The First-Tier Tribunal to hear cases at first instance, and an Upper Tribunal to
hear appeals. The Act gives the Lord Chancellor power to transfer the jurisdiction of existing
tribunals to the two new tribunals and creates a new, simplified statutory framework for tribunals
to provide coherence.
The First-Tier Tribunal operates in seven chambers: The Social Entitlement Chamber, the
Health, Education and Social Care Chamber, the War Pensions and Armed Forces
Compensation Chamber, the Tax Chamber, the Property Chamber, the Immigration and Asylum
Chamber and the General Regulatory Chamber. Many of the cases will be heard in centres
locally. The Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal share administrative
arrangements of the new tribunals but will operate separately. The Upper Tribunal is divided into
four chambers: the Administrative Appeals Chamber, the Tax and Chancery Chamber, the
Lands Chamber and the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Each chamber is headed by a
Chamber President while the tribunals’ judiciary is headed by a Senior President of Tribunals.
All tribunals that fall within the responsibility of central government will be administered by Her
Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service. The Council on Tribunals was abolished and replaced by
the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council. This was given a broader remit. The new
Council has to supervise the tribunals to the old council but also to keep the administrative
justice system as a whole under review. Since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of
Offenders Act 2012, fees must be paid to resolve cases in tribunals. The government also
introduced fee remissions for individuals who rely on state benefits or whose household income
falls below a financial threshold.
Under the 2007 Act, a new Tribunal Procedure Committee has been established. It has
produced a unified set of procedural rules for the tribunals, which are heavily influenced by the
civil procedural rules introduced by Lord Woolf. For example, the new rules contain a similar
overriding objective.
Most tribunals consist of a judge and two lay people with some expertise in the relevant subject
area. The lay members take an active part in decision-making. Tribunals composed entirely of
lay people are considered to be less effective than those with a judge. Normally cases will be
