Tribunals
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April 18, 2017
Why I became a judge: Tribunal Chamber President Judge John Aitken
Judge John Aitken became President of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal in 2014
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December 1, 2016
Practice Statement: Delegation of Functions to Registrars First-Tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber)
The Senior President of Tribunals has today issued a practice statement
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January 20, 2016
Assessing credibility – Genn
Warns of the difficulty of assessing credibility, is someone telling the truth? In particular, warns against placing too much weight on the demeanour of a witness.
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January 20, 2016
The introduction – Deans
What would you want to know if you were appearing before the tribunal?
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January 20, 2016
Establishing facts – Bano
Outlines a methodical approach to assessing the evidence and finding the facts in a case.
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January 20, 2016
(Perils of the) Online World – Clarke
The relevance of social media including Twitter and Facebook to the work of judges
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January 20, 2016
Reading the papers – Ockelton
A fictional scenario illustrates what can happen when the tribunal has not read the papers in advance. Why it is important to prepare adequately and some techniques for doing so (such as developing a form to record key points). Read the papers well enough to instil confidence in the parties but not so well that it is difficult to keep an open mind.
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January 20, 2016
Burden and standard of proof – Cooper
Considers the rules of evidence as applicable in tribunals by comparison with proceedings in criminal law. What is the burden of proof? What is the standard of proof? How is this affected by the more inquisitorial nature of most tribunal proceedings, compared to a criminal trial? Differences between jurisdictions are considered. Concludes that where a Tribunal deals with non-criminal proceedings the civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities) should apply.
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January 20, 2016
Links that may cast doubt on objectivity – Stacey
An update on the article “When not to sit”, dealing with the implications of some recent case law. What type of relationship between a party’s representative and a tribunal member may give rise to a risk of bias? What about inappropriate noises, remarks and the expression of preliminary views by a tribunal?
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January 20, 2016
The more preparation the better (dealing with misconceptions of an unrepresented party, despite pre-hearing advice) – Williams
Helpful insights into the misconceptions that an unrepresented party may bring to a tribunal hearing