Article 54 Admission of public to hearings

Changes not yet applied. Later legislation changes this provision in ways not yet written into the text below:

rule 54(5) omitted by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) 2008 Sch. 1 para. 275
Rules revoked by Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) 2014 rule 45 Table 1
Rules modified by Transfer of Functions of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal 2010 art. 4

(1)

Subject to the following provisions of this rule, every hearing before the Tribunal must be held in public.

(2)

Where the Tribunal is considering an allegation referred to in section 108 of the 2002 Act—

(a)

all members of the public must be excluded from the hearing, and

(b)

any party or representative of a party may be excluded from the hearing.

(3)

The Tribunal may exclude any or all members of the public from any hearing or part of a hearing if it is necessary—

(a)

in the interests of public order or national security; or

(b)

to protect the private life of a party or the interests of a minor.

(4)

The Tribunal may also, in exceptional circumstances, exclude any or all members of the public from any hearing or part of a hearing to ensure that publicity does not prejudice the interests of justice, but only if and to the extent that it is strictly necessary to do so.

(5)

A member of the Council on Tribunals or of its Scottish Committee acting in that capacity is entitled to attend any hearing and may not be excluded pursuant to paragraph (2), (3) or (4) of this rule.

(6)

The United Kingdom Representative, where he has given notice to the Tribunal under rule 49, is entitled to attend any hearing except where paragraph (2) applies, and may not be excluded pursuant to paragraph (3) or (4) of this rule.