{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-tribunal-for-scotland-practice-and-procedure-rules-2005/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-tribunal-for-scotland-practice-and-procedure-rules-2005/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "ssi/2005/420",
  "legislation_title": "The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Practice and Procedure) Rules 2005",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/mental-health-tribunal-for-scotland-practice-and-procedure-rules-2005",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Rules—\n“the Act” means the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003;\n“appellant” means a person who appeals to the Tribunal under or by virtue of any of the sections of the Act specified in Part III of these Rules;\n“applicant” means a person who makes an application to the Tribunal under the Act;\n“Clerk” means a member of staff of the Tribunal employed to carry out the administration of the Tribunal or to act as clerk at a hearing of the Tribunal;\n“Convener” means the President or a person selected by the President from the panel mentioned in paragraph 1(1)(a) or 2 of schedule 2 to the Act;\n“electronic communication” has the meaning given to it by section 15(1) of Electronic Communications Act 2000 and “electronic signature” has the same meaning as in section 7 of that Act;\n“hearing” means a sitting of the Tribunal for the purpose of enabling the Tribunal to take a decision on any matter relating to the case before it;\n“notice” means notice in writing;\n“the overriding objective” means the overriding objective described in rule 4;\n“party” means–\n(a) the person who initiated the proceedings before the Tribunal;\n(b) the patient to whom the proceedings relate;\n(c) the named person of the patient to whom the proceedings relate;\n(d) any person whose decision (which shall include any direction or order, determination or grant of a certificate, but does not include a decision by a court) is the subject of the proceedings before the Tribunal; and\n(e) any person added as a party under rule 48;\n“patient” means the patient to whom the proceedings relate;\n“relevant person” means any party and any other person who sends a notice of response under Part II, IV or V of these Rules indicating a wish to make representations or to lead or produce evidence;\n“President” means the President of the Tribunal;\n“referee” means a person who makes a reference to the Tribunal under the Act;\n“respondent” means the person who made the decision which is the subject of appeal under or by virtue of Part III of these Rules;\n“Tribunal” means the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and “tribunal” means a tribunal constituted under sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 7 of schedule 2 to the Act to discharge the functions of the Tribunal; and\n“working day” means a day which is not–\n(a) a Saturday;\n(b) a Sunday; or\n(c) a day which is a bank holiday in Scotland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.\n(2) Any reference in these Rules to a rule is a reference to a rule in these Rules, and in any rule a reference to a paragraph or sub-paragraph is, unless otherwise expressly provided, a reference to a paragraph or sub-paragraph in the rule.\n(3) Where the time specified by these Rules for doing any act ends on a Saturday, Sunday or a day which is a bank holiday in Scotland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 that act is done in time if it is done on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "2000 c. 7."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1971 c. 80."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2005/420/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T22:24:37.022672+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}