# The Commissioner for Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, Article 12: Investigation of complaints against relevant authorities


(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and Article 13, the Commissioner may conduct an investigation into a complaint made by a child or young person—
(a) that his rights have been infringed by any action taken by a relevant authority; or
(b) that his interests have been adversely affected by any such action.
(2) The Commissioner shall not exercise his power under paragraph (1) in relation to a complaint unless he is satisfied that—
(a) the complaint raises a question of principle; and
(b) the complaint does not fall within an existing statutory complaints system.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), a complaint falls within an existing statutory complaints system if a statutory provision confers power on a person to make the complaint to a body or person and—
(a) that body or person has power under a statutory provision to investigate the complaint; or
(b) that body or person would have power under a statutory provision to investigate the complaint but for some exclusion or restriction in that statutory provision.
(4) Where the Commissioner decides not to conduct an investigation into a complaint made under paragraph (1), he shall prepare a statement of his reasons for that decision and shall send a copy of the statement to—
(a) the complainant; and
(b) such other persons (if any) as the Commissioner considers appropriate.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2003/0110443055/article/12 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-commissioner-for-children-and-young-people-northern-ireland-order-2003/article-12
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.