THE POLICE PENSION (NORTHERN IRELAND) REGULATIONS 2009

Appeals

Appeals

63.—(1) Where a member of the police service, or a person claiming an award in respect of such a member, is aggrieved by—

(a) the refusal of the Board to admit a claim to receive as of right an award or a larger award than that granted;

(b) a decision of the Board as to whether a refusal to accept medical treatment is reasonable for the purposes of regulation 3;

(c) the reduction under regulation 50 by the Board of the amount of any pension payable to such a member; or

(d) the forfeiture under regulation 52 by the Board of any award granted to or in respect of such a member,

he may, subject to regulation 64, give notice of appeal to the Board and the Secretary of State; and any such notice shall be in writing and shall specify the grounds of the appeal.

(2) The Secretary of State, on receiving such notice of appeal, shall appoint an appeal tribunal (“the tribunal”), which shall consist of three persons, including a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years’ standing who shall be appointed chairman and a former member of the police service or of a police force in Great Britain who, before he ceased to serve as such or retired, held a rank not lower than that of superintendent.

(3) The time and place for the hearing, or any postponed or adjourned hearing, of the appeal shall be determined by the tribunal, which shall give reasonable notice of it to the Secretary of State who shall notify the appellant and the Board.

(4) The Board and the appellant (“the parties”) may be represented before the tribunal by counsel, by a solicitor or by other appropriate person, adduce evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

(5) The tribunal shall apply the rules of evidence applicable in a hearing of an appeal to a county court under article 28 of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980(1).

(6) Subject to the preceding provisions of this regulation, the tribunal shall determine its own procedure.

(7) The tribunal, after enquiring into the case and arriving at a decision thereon, may make such order in the matter as appears to it just, and—

(a) the order shall state the reasons for the decision; and

(b) each of the parties shall be entitled to a copy of any such order.

(8) An appeal shall lie on a point of law from any decision of a tribunal under this regulation to the High Court in accordance with rules of court.

Limitations on appeals

64.—(1) An appeal shall not lie under regulation 63 against anything done by the Board in the exercise of a power conferred by these Regulations which is expressly declared by these Regulations to be a power which they are to exercise in their discretion.

(2) Subject to regulation 69(2), in any proceedings under regulation 63 the court or tribunal shall be bound by any final decision of a medical authority within the meaning of regulation 69.

(1)

S.I. 1980/397 (N.I.3)