(This note is not part of the Rules)
These Rules further amend the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) (No. 2) Rules 2005 to replace rule 58 (power to decide a case without a hearing) with a new version.
The previous version of the rule required that ‘the relevant persons’ agree in writing before the case could be decided without a hearing. The amended rule permits certain persons, including the patient, to request that oral representations or oral evidence be heard. Persons other than the patient must show cause for these to be heard. A request from the patient for oral representations or oral evidence to be heard must be granted.