Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill
published in draft
(July 2006)
Dominic Smales from the Tribunals Service writes about the draft Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill, which was published on 25 July.
The draft Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill was published on 25 July 2006. The Bill sets out a range of proposals, including a new statutory framework for tribunals. In particular the tribunals elements of the Bill will:
- Create two new tribunals, the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal, into which most existing tribunal jurisdictions will be mapped to form "chambers";
- Bring the tribunal judiciary together under the Senior President, putting that office on a statutory footing and creating the offices of Tribunal Judge, Tribunal Appeal Judge, Tribunal Member and Tribunal Appeal Member;
- Permit the flexible deployment of judges and members across jurisdictions;
- Establish a consistent principle on onward appeals;
- Create a Tribunal Procedure Committee to bring greater consistency to tribunal procedure rules; and
- Transform the Council on Tribunals into an Administrative Justice Council, with a wider remit to keep the administrative justice system under review.
These reforms flow from the White Paper Transforming Public Services: Complaints, Redress and Tribunals published in July 2004 and complement the creation of the Tribunals Service in April this year. They are designed to introduce greater flexibility into the tribunal system and will provide the legislative basis for future reform.
The non-tribunals elements of the Bill include proposals to amend the criteria for eligibility for appointment to judicial office and measures to improve the enforcement of judgments in the civil courts. You can find further detail on the DCA website.
Further provisions may be added before the Bill is introduced to Parliament. Our intention remains to introduce it as soon as parliamentary time allows.