The Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (Fitness to Practise and Disqualification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Witness evidence

45.—(1) Witnesses are to be required to take an oath, or to affirm, before giving their oral evidence.

(2) The Society may not compel the person concerned to be a witness.

(3) A party may not call a person to be a witness unless that party has provided to the other party a written statement of evidence provided by the witness which meets the requirements of regulation 26, at least 7 days before the day of the hearing, unless the chair determines otherwise.

(4) The Statutory Committee may, upon the application of the party calling the witness, direct that any details which may identify that witness must not be revealed in public.

(5) Where a witness’s first language is not English, the Statutory Committee may direct that their evidence be given through an interpreter.

(6) Witnesses other than the person concerned—

(a) must first be examined by the party calling them;

(b) may be cross examined;

(c) may then be re-examined by the party calling them; and

(d) may then be questioned, with the leave of the chair, by the Statutory Committee or by a clinical, legal or specialist adviser.

(7) The parties may then question the witnesses on matters arising out of the Statutory Committee’s questions, with the party calling the witness being given the last opportunity to do so (as between the parties).

(8) Where the person concerned is a witness, they—

(a) must first be examined by the person representing them or, if there is no such person, must be questioned by the Statutory Committee through the chair;

(b) may then be cross examined;

(c) may then be re-examined by the person representing them if any; and

(d) may then be questioned, with the leave of the chair, by the Statutory Committee whether or not they are represented.

(9) Any further questioning of witnesses is to be at the discretion of the chair.

(10) Except for expert witnesses and the person concerned, witnesses are not to be allowed to attend the proceedings until after they have completed giving their evidence and been formally released by the chair.