The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009

PART 1 Introduction

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation

1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 and come into force on 1st September 2009.

(2) These Rules apply to proceedings before the Tribunal which have been allocated to the General Regulatory Chamber by the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Chambers) Order 2008 M1.

(3) In these Rules—

“the 2007 Act” means the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007;

“appellant” means a person who—

“charities case” means an appeal or application in respect of a decision, order or direction of the Charity Commission, or a reference under Schedule 1D of the Charities Act 1993;

“document” means anything in which information is recorded in any form, and an obligation under these Rules or any practice direction or direction to provide or allow access to a document or a copy of a document for any purpose means, unless the Tribunal directs otherwise, an obligation to provide or allow access to such document or copy in a legible form or in a form which can be readily made into a legible form;

“General Regulatory Chamber” means the General Regulatory Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal established by the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal (Chambers) Order 2008;

“hearing” means an oral hearing and includes a hearing conducted in whole or in part by video link, telephone or other means of instantaneous two-way electronic communication;

“notice of appeal” means a document which starts proceedings;

“party” means—

“practice direction” means a direction given under section 23 of the 2007 Act;

“respondent” means—

“transport case” means proceedings under the Road Traffic Act 1988 M2, the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 M3, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 M4, the Postal Services Act 2000 M5, the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007 M6 and the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007 M7;

“Tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal.

Overriding objective and parties' obligation to co-operate with the tribunal

2.—(1) The overriding objective of these Rules is to enable the Tribunal to deal with cases fairly and justly.

(2) Dealing with a case fairly and justly includes—

(a)dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate to the importance of the case, the complexity of the issues, the anticipated costs and the resources of the parties;

(b)avoiding unnecessary formality and seeking flexibility in the proceedings;

(c)ensuring, so far as practicable, that the parties are able to participate fully in the proceedings;

(d)using any special expertise of the Tribunal effectively; and

(e)avoiding delay, so far as compatible with proper consideration of the issues.

(3) The Tribunal must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when it—

(a)exercises any power under these Rules; or

(b)interprets any rule or practice direction.

(4) Parties must—

(a)help the Tribunal to further the overriding objective; and

(b)co-operate with the Tribunal generally.

Alternative dispute resolution and arbitration

3.—(1) The Tribunal should seek, where appropriate—

(a)to bring to the attention of the parties the availability of any appropriate alternative procedure for the resolution of the dispute; and

(b)if the parties wish, and provided that it is compatible with the overriding objective, to facilitate the use of the procedure.

(2) Part 1 of the Arbitration Act 1996 M8 does not apply to proceedings before the Tribunal.