The Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales Rules 2008

Privacy of hearings

25.—(1) Except where a patient requests a hearing in public and the Tribunal is satisfied that that would be in the interests of the patient, all hearings must be held in private.

(2) Where the Tribunal refuses a request for a public hearing or directs that a hearing which has begun in public shall continue in private, the Tribunal must record in writing its reasons for holding the hearing in private and shall inform the patient of those reasons.

(3) Where a hearing is held in private, the Tribunal may—

(a) exclude particular individuals from the hearing or part of it; or

(b) permit particular individuals to attend the hearing or part of it on such terms as it considers appropriate.

(4) The Tribunal may give a direction excluding from the hearing, or part of it—

(a) any person whose conduct, in the opinion of the Tribunal, is disrupting or is likely to disrupt the hearing;

(b) any person whose presence the Tribunal considers is likely to prevent another person from giving evidence or making submissions freely; or

(c) any person who the Tribunal considers should be excluded in order to give effect to a direction under rule 17 (withholding information likely to cause harm).

(5) The Tribunal may give a direction excluding a witness from a hearing until that witness gives evidence.