Ministry of Justice consults on reforms to arrangements for obtaining permission to appeal from Upper Tribunal to Court of Appeal
The Ministry of Justice is seeking views on proposals for reforms to arrangements for obtaining permission to appeal from the Upper Tribunal to the Court of Appeal and arrangements for second appeals to the Court of Session.
The MoJ said the proposals were two-fold with the aim of improving the efficiency of the unified tribunal system by limiting the extent to which an unsuccessful litigant can require the Court of Appeal to further examine judicial decisions made in the Upper Tribunal.
The two proposals are:
- In the case of a second appeal which are appeals challenging certain kinds of decisions from the Upper Tribunal to the Court of Appeal, if the Upper Tribunal refuses permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal, the losing party may only apply directly to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal “for reasons of exceptional public interest”. If the Upper Tribunal is uncertain whether to grant or refuse permission to appeal, they may refer the application for permission to appeal for determination by the Court of Appeal (which will be determined in the usual way on the papers, unless the judge directs an oral hearing).
- Where a judge of the Upper Tribunal has certified an application for judicial review to be totally without merit, there should be a right of review before another Upper Tribunal judge but no right to apply for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In addition, the MoJ proposing to consult on a minor amendment to s.13 Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 regarding remedying an inconsistency in second appeals to the Court of Session.
The consultation closes on 11 January 2021.
