Trevor Buck hopes tribunal reforms will end their Cinderella status
The tribunal reforms contained in Pt 1 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA 2007) are being implemented in earnest with a new, unified two-tier structure going live earlier this month.
These reforms follow lengthy policy development, the underlying intention of which has been to rationalise a fragmented number of different tribunal “silos” with different rules of procedure, membership composition, and practices. These differences have been often caused, not by the real needs of the specialised jurisdictions, but by their adventitious appearance during the legislative process. In contrast, the new regime is intended to provide a structure that better accommodates users’ needs and accessibility; a more efficient use of judicial and administrative resources; and greater use and exploration of “proportionate dispute resolution”.
Cross-ticketing
It may be of interest to legal practitioners that there is an accompanying vision to create a distinctive, independent tribunal judiciary that will provide more attractive career paths through “cross-ticketing” of jurisdictions. Lord Justice Carnwath was formally sworn in as the senior president
