Constitution and functions
1. The Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council (AJTC) was set up by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 to replace the Council on Tribunals.
2. The AJTC consists of not more than 15 nor less than 10 appointed members. Of these, either two or three are appointed by the Scottish Ministers with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor and the Welsh Ministers; and either one or two are appointed by the Welsh Ministers with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor and the Scottish Ministers. The remainder are appointed by the Lord Chancellor with the concurrence of the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers.
3. The Lord Chancellor, after consultation with the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers, nominates one of the appointed members to be Chair of the AJTC. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Parliamentary Ombudsman) is a member of the AJTC by virtue of his or her office.
4. The Scottish Committee of the AJTC consists of the two or three members of the AJTC appointed by the Scottish Ministers (one being nominated by the Scottish Ministers as Chair) and three or four other members, not being members of the AJTC, appointed by the Scottish Ministers. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman are members of the Scottish Committee by virtue of their office.
5. The Welsh Committee of the AJTC consists of the one or two members of the AJTC appointed by the Welsh Ministers (one being nominated by the Welsh Ministers as Chair) and two or three other members, not being members of the AJTC, appointed by the Welsh Ministers. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales are members of the Welsh Committee by virtue of their office.
6. The principal functions of the AJTC as laid down in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 are:
a) to keep the administrative justice system under review;
b) to keep under review and report on the constitution and working of listed tribunals; and
c) to keep under review and report on the constitution and working of statutory inquiries.
7. The AJTC’s functions with respect to the administrative justice system include considering ways to make it accessible, fair and efficient, advising the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Senior President of Tribunals on its development and referring to them proposals for change, and making proposals for research.
8. The “administrative justice system” means the overall system by which decisions of an administrative or executive nature are made in relation to particular persons, including the procedures for making such decisions, the law under which they are made, and the systems for resolving disputes and airing grievances in relation to them.
9. The AJTC’s functions with respect to tribunals include considering and reporting on any matter relating to listed tribunals that the AJTC determines to be of special importance, considering and reporting on any particular matter relating to tribunals that is referred to the AJTC by the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers, and scrutinising and commenting on legislation, existing or proposed, relating to tribunals.
10. “Listed tribunals” are the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal established by the 2007 Act and tribunals listed by orders made by the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers. The AJTC must be consulted before procedural rules are made for any listed tribunal except the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal. The AJTC is represented on the Tribunal Procedure Committee that makes procedural rules for the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal.
11. The AJTC’s functions with respect to statutory inquiries include considering and reporting on any matter relating to statutory inquiries that the AJTC determines to be of special importance, and considering and reporting on any particular matter relating to statutory inquiries that is referred to the AJTC by the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers.
12. “Statutory inquiry” means an inquiry or hearing held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Crown, the Scottish Ministers or the Welsh Ministers in pursuance of a statutory duty, or a discretionary inquiry or hearing held by or on behalf of those Ministers which has been designated by an order under the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992. The AJTC must be consulted on procedural rules made by the Lord Chancellor or the Scottish Ministers in connection with statutory inquiries.
13. Members of the AJTC and the Scottish and Welsh Committees have the right to attend (as observer) proceedings of a listed tribunal or a statutory inquiry, including hearings held in private and proceedings not taking the form of a hearing.
14. The AJTC has no authority to deal with matters within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
15. The AJTC must formulate, in general terms, a programme of the work that it plans to undertake in carrying out its functions. It must keep the programme under review and revise it when appropriate. It must send a copy of the programme, and any significant revision to it, to the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers.
16. The AJTC must make an annual report to the Lord Chancellor, the Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Ministers, which must be laid before Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. The Scottish Committee must make an annual report to the Scottish Ministers, who must lay the report before the Scottish Parliament. The Welsh Committee must make an annual report to the Welsh Ministers, who must lay the report before the National Assembly for Wales.
Scottish
Cymru / Welsh
The latest edition of the AJTC's quarterly electronic newsletter.
