Sections 76 to 79: Case tribunals, interim case tribunals and adjudications
175.Section 76 provides for adjudications on findings by an ethical standards officer following investigation, and on interim recommendations by an ethical standards officer under sections 64 and 65 or by a Local Commissioner in Wales under sections 71 and 72. These are to be conducted by case tribunals or interim case tribunals. The amendment made by paragraph 28 of Schedule 5 places each case tribunal under the supervision of the Council on Tribunals.
176.Case tribunals or interim case tribunals should consist of not less than three members of the Adjudication Panel appointed by the president or deputy president, both of whom can themselves be tribunal members. A member of the Adjudication Panel cannot be a member of a tribunal if they have been a member of the relevant authority or a member of a committee or sub-committee of the relevant authority concerned in the previous five years. Adjudication Panel members are also placed under a duty to declare to the president or deputy president any direct or indirect interest in any matter which is, or is likely to be, the subject of an adjudication conducted by a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and may not be a member of a case tribunal or interim case tribunal which conducts an adjudication in relation to that matter. Where there is no deputy president of the relevant Adjudication Panel, a reference to the deputy president is to be treated as a reference to such a member as the Lord Chancellor or (as appropriate) the NAW may specify.
177.Subsection (10) provides that a member of an interim case tribunal may not be a member of a case tribunal which, on conclusion of that investigation, subsequently conducts an adjudication in relation to that person. Subsections (11) and (13) respectively make provision for the Lord Chancellor (with the consent of the Secretary of State) and the NAW to issue guidance in respect of the composition of case tribunals or interim case tribunals.
178.Subsection (14) provides for the NAW to incur expenditure for the purpose of providing administrative support to the Adjudication Panel for Wales.
179.A tribunal may conduct a single adjudication in relation to two or more matters which are referred to the president of the relevant Adjudication Panel.
180.Section 77 enables a person who is the subject of a tribunal hearing either to appear before the tribunal in person or to be represented by a third party. This section also makes provision for the Secretary of State and the NAW to make such further regulations covering the process of adjudication as is considered necessary. It also enables the president of the relevant Adjudication Panel, after consultation with the Secretary of State or (where appropriate) the NAW, to give directions as to the practice and procedure to be followed by tribunals drawn from the Panel.
181.Regulations made under section 76 might cover:
requiring people to attend to give evidence to the case tribunal and authorising the administration of oaths to witnesses;
requiring them to make relevant documents relating to the investigation available to the tribunal;
requiring persons to furnish further particulars;
prescribing the procedure to be followed by a tribunal, including provision as to the persons entitled to appear and to be heard on behalf of persons giving evidence;
provision enabling the president or deputy president to settle the procedure to be followed in relation to matters specified in the regulations;
awarding or settling costs or expenses and for enabling such costs to be taxed in a county court;
the registration and proof of decisions and awards of tribunals.
182.Section 77 also introduces an offence of failing to comply with any requirement imposed by a tribunal in considering a case. It is similar to the offence introduced by section 62 and also has the penalty of up to a level 3 fine (£1,000 at present).
183.Section 78 makes provision for the decisions of interim case tribunals. It places a duty on the interim case tribunal to decide whether or not the member mentioned should be suspended on an interim basis (for a period not exceeding six months or, if shorter, the remainder of the person’s term of office) The tribunal must give notice of its decision to the standards committee of the relevant authority concerned, including the details of the suspension or partial suspension and the date on which the suspension or partial suspension is to begin. The relevant authority is under a duty to comply with the notice. Section 78 also provides that the interim suspension or partial suspension shall cease to have effect on the day that a notice is given by a case tribunal under section 79. Copies of any notice to suspend or partially suspend on an interim basis must be given to the person who is the subject of the notice and to the relevant monitoring officer. The interim case tribunal must take reasonable steps to inform the person who made the allegation of its outcome.
184.Section 78(5) provides that any decision made by an interim case tribunal should not prevent an ethical standards officer from continuing with the investigation. Further interim reports may also be produced and considered.
185.Subsection (10) provides that any person suspended under this section may appeal to the High Court, against either the suspension or partial suspension or the length of the suspension or partial suspension.
186.Section 79 provides for the decisions of case tribunals. It places a duty on the case tribunal to decide whether or not there has been a breach of the code of conduct in the case brought before it. Where the case tribunal decides that a person has not failed to comply with the code of conduct, it must notify the standards committee of the relevant authority concerned.
187.Where the case tribunal decides that a person has failed to comply with the code of conduct, this section places the case tribunal under a duty to decide whether the person should be suspended or partially suspended from being a member of the relevant authority concerned or disqualified for being, or becoming (whether by election or otherwise), a member of that or any other relevant authority.
188.Section 79 also requires the case tribunal to decide on the period of suspension or partial suspension (up to one year, although this must not extend beyond the person’s terms of office) or, where appropriate the period of disqualification (up to five years). The case tribunal must issue a notice to the standards committee of the relevant authority concerned, stating that the person has failed to comply with the code of conduct and specifying the details of the failure and stating, where appropriate, that the person must be suspended or partially suspended or is disqualified, with the period of suspension, partial suspension or disqualification. Subsection (9) provides that the relevant authority must comply with a notice stating that the person concerned must be suspended or partially suspended.
189.Section 79 also provides that a copy of the notice must be given to the Standards Board or the Commission for Local Administration in Wales (as appropriate) and to the person who is the subject of the notice. The notice must also be published in local newspapers in the relevant authority’s area. The case tribunal must also take reasonable steps to inform the person who made the initial allegation of the outcome of the tribunal’s adjudication. Subsection (15) introduces a right of appeal to the High Court for a person who a case tribunal decides has failed to comply with the code of conduct.
190.Schedule 5 amends section 87 of the Local Government Act 1972 to provide that in a case where a case tribunal decides that a person is to be disqualified, the disqualification takes effect immediately; but a by-election only takes place once the person has either decided not to appeal or, in the event of an appeal, once the appeal process has been exhausted.
