Paragraph 9 Duties and powers of the independent expertI1
England, Wales and Scotland
When the Tribunal makes an order under rule 3(1)(b) (conduct of stage 1 equal value hearing) or 5 (involvement of independent expert in fact finding), it must inform the independent expert of the duties and powers under this rule.
The independent expert has a duty to the Tribunal to—
assist it in furthering the overriding objective,
comply with the requirements of these Rules and any orders made by the Tribunal,
keep the Tribunal informed of any delay in complying with any order (with the exception of minor or insignificant delays in compliance),
comply with any timetable imposed by the Tribunal in so far as this is reasonably practicable,
when requested, inform the Tribunal of progress in the preparation of the report,
prepare a report on the question based on the facts relating to the question and (subject to rule 13 (national security proceedings)) send it to the Tribunal and the parties, and
attend hearings.
The independent expert may make an application for any order or for a hearing to be held as if the independent expert were a party to the proceedings.
At any stage of the proceedings the Tribunal may, after giving the independent expert the opportunity to make representations, withdraw the requirement on the independent expert to prepare a report. If it does so, the Tribunal may itself determine the question, or it may require a different independent expert to prepare a report.
When paragraph (4) applies, the independent expert who is no longer required to prepare a report must provide the Tribunal with all documentation and work in progress relating to the proceedings by a date specified by the Tribunal. Such documentation and work in progress must be in a form which the Tribunal is able to use and may be used in relation to those proceedings by the Tribunal or by another independent expert.
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
Sch. 2 para. 9 in force at 6.1.2025 immediately after S.I. 2024/1156 comes into force, see rule 1(1)