Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971 (repealed 1.10.1992) in Wales

There shall continue to be a council entitled the Council on Tribunals (being the council constituted by the M1Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1958)—

Nothing in this section shall authorise or require the Council to deal with any matter with respect to which the Parliament of Northern Ireland has power to make laws.

Subject to subsection (3) of this section the Council on Tribunals (in this Act referred to as “the Council”) shall consist of not more than fifteen nor less than ten members appointed by the Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate and one of the members shall be so appointed to be chairman of the Council.

There shall be a Scottish Committee of the Council (in this Act referred to as “the Scottish Committee”) which, subject to subsection (3) of this section, shall consist of—

and the Lord Advocate shall appoint one of the members of the Scottish Committee (being a member of the Council) to be chairman of the Scottish Committee.

In addition to the persons appointed or designated as aforesaid, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration shall, by virtue of his office, be a member of the Council and of the Scottish Committee.

In appointing members of the Council regard shall be had to the need for representation of the interests of persons in Wales.

Persons appointed under section 2 of this Act shall hold and vacate office under the terms of the instruments under which they are appointed, but may resign office by notice in writing to the Minister or Ministers by whom they were appointed; and any such person who ceases to hold office shall be eligible for re-appointment.

There shall be paid to the chairman of the Council and the chairman of the Scottish Committee such salaries, and to the other members of the Council and of the Scottish Committee such fees (if any) as may be determined by the Treasury.

The salaries and fees payable under subsection (2) of this section, together with such expenses of the Council and of the Scottish Committee (including subsistence allowances for and travelling expenses of their members) as may be approved by the Treasury shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

Subject to the provisions of this section, any report by, or reference to, the Council shall be made to, or as the case may be by, the Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate.

A reference to the Council of a matter relating only to England and Wales may be made by the Lord Chancellor and a reference to the Council of a matter relating only to Scotland may be made by the Lord Advocate; and the report of the Council on a reference so made shall be made to the Minister making the reference.

The Council shall not make a report on any such tribunal as is specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, or on any matter referred to the Council by the Lord Advocate, until the Council have referred the matter of the report for consideration, and report to the Council, by the Scottish Committee and have considered the report of that Committee.

Where, without any reference having been made to them, the Council report on any such matter as is mentioned in section 1(1)(c) of this Act, then—

The Scottish Committee may of its own motion make a report to the Council with respect to the constitution or working of any such tribunal as is specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act or with respect to any matter falling within section 1(1)(c) of this Act and relating only to Scotland.

If the Council, in reporting on any matter which they have referred to the Scottish Committee or on which that Committee has reported to the Council of its own motion, do not adopt the report of that Committee without modification, or if the Council do not make a report on matters on which the Scottish Committee has reported to the Council of its own motion, the Scottish Committee may submit its report to the Lord Advocate.

The Council shall make an annual report to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate on their proceedings and those of the Scottish Committee, and the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate shall lay the annual report before Parliament with such comments (if any) as they think fit.

Without prejudice to the generality of section 1(1)(a) of this Act, the Council may make to the appropriate Minister general recommendations as to the making of appointments to membership of any such tribunals as are specified in Schedule 1 to this Act or of panels constituted for the purposes of any such tribunals; and (without prejudice, however, to any statutory provisions having effect with respect to such appointments) the appropriate Minister shall have regard to recommendations under this section.

In this section “the appropriate Minister” means, in relation to appointments of any description, the Minister, making the appointments or, if they are not made by a Minister, the Minister in charge of the government department concerned with the tribunals in question.

The following provisions shall have effect as respects any such tribunal as is specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act—

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, no power of a Minister other than the Lord Chancellor to terminate a persons’s membership of any such tribunal as is specified in Schedule 1 to this Act, or of a panel constituted for the purposes of any such tribunal, shall be exercisable except with the consent of—

This section does not apply to any such tribunal as is specified in paragraph F12AF25AF3, 5B,F46AF56BF67AF710A17(a), 22, F823(e), 25(a), 29(b), 30, 35 F937A or 41(a) of Schedule 1 to this Act.

For the purposes of this section in its application to any such tribunal as is specified in paragraph 8(a) of Schedule 1 to this Act, an adjudicator who has sat only in England or Wales or who has sat only in Scotland or who has sat only in Northern Ireland shall be deemed to constitute a tribunal which does not sit outside England and Wales or which sits only in Scotland or which sits only in Northern Ireland, as the case may be.

No power of a Minister, the Lord President of the Court of Session F1the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or the Commissioners of Customs and Excise to make, approve, confirm or concur in procedural rules for any such tribunal as is specified in Schedule 1 to this Act shall be exercisable except after consultation with the Council.

The Council, in the exercise of their functions under this section as respects any such tribunal as is specified in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, shall consult with the Scottish Committee.

In this section “procedural rules” includes any statutory provision relating to the procedure of the tribunal in question.

The Lord Chancellor, after consultation with the Council, may make rules regulating the procedure to be followed in connection with statutory inquiries held by or on behalf of Ministers; and different provision may be made by any such rules in relation to different classes of such inquiries.

Any rules made by the Lord Chancellor under this section shall have effect, in relation to any statutory inquiry, subject to the provisions of the enactment under which the inquiry is held, and of any rules or regulations made under that enactment.

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, rules made under this section may regulate procedure in connection with matters preparatory to such statutory inquiries as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and in connection with matters subsequent to such inquiries, as well as in connection with the conduct of proceedings at such inquiries.

In the application of this section to inquiries held in Scotland, for any reference to the Lord Chancellor there shall be substituted a reference to F1the Lord Advocate; and the Council, in exercising their functions under this section in relation to rules to be made by the Lord Advocate, shall consult with the Scottish Committee.

Subject to the provisions of this section, where—

it shall be the duty of the tribunal or Minister to furnish a statement, either written or oral, of the reasons for the decision if requested, on or before the giving or notification of the decision, to state the reasons.

The said statement may be refused, or the specification of the reasons restricted, on grounds of national security, and the tribunal or Minister may refuse to furnish the statement to a person not primarily concerned with the decision if of opinion that to furnish it would be contrary to the interests of any person primarily concerned.

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any decision taken by a Minister after the holding by him or on his behalf of any inquiry or hearing which is a statutory inquiry by virtue only of an order made under section 19(2) of this Act unless the order contains a direction that this section is to apply in relation to any inquiry or hearing to which the order applies.

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to decisions in respect of which any statutory provision has effect, apart from this section, as to the giving of reasons, or to decisions of a Minister in connection with the preparation, making approval, confirmation, or concurrence in regulations, rules, or byelaws, or orders or schemes of a legislative and not executive character.

Any statement of the reasons for such a decision as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of this section, whether given in pursuance of that subsection or of any other statutory provision, shall be taken to form part of the decision and accordingly to be incorporated in the record.

If, after consultation with the Council, it appears to the Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate that it is expedient that decisions of any particular tribunal or any description of such decisions, or any description of decisions of a Minister, should be excluded from the operation of subsection (1) of this section on the ground that the subject-matter of such decisions, or the circumstances in which they are made, make the giving of reasons unnecessary or impracticable, the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate may by order direct that subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to such decisions.

F1As respects England and Wales . . . F2, any provision in an Act passed before 1st August 1958 that any order or determination shall not be called into question in any court, or any provision in such an Act which by similar words excludes any of the powers of the High Court, shall not have effect so as to prevent the removal of the proceedings into the High Court by order of certiorari or to prejudice the powers of the High Court to make orders of mandamus:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As respects Scotland, any provision in an Act passed before 1st August 1958 that any order or determination shall not be called into question in any court, or any provision in such an Act which by similar words excludes any jurisidiction which the Court of Session would otherwise have to entertain an application for reduction or suspension of any order or determination, or otherwise to consider the validity of any order or determination, shall not have effect so as to prevent the exercise of any such jurisdiction.

Nothing in this section shall . . . F3apply to any order or determination of a court of law or where an Act makes special provision for application to the High Court or the Court of Session within a time limited by the Act.

The Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate may by order direct that Part I or Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect as if there were specified therein any such tribunals, other than any of the ordinary courts of law, as may be provided by the order.

The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate may by order make provision, as respects any such tribunal as is for the time being specified in Schedule 1 to this Act, not being a tribunal mentioned in section 7 of this Act, for applying any of the provisions of that section to the tribunal or for providing for the appointment by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Court of Session or the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland of the chairman of the tribunal and of any person to be appointed to act as chairman.

The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate may by order apply section 13 of this Act to any such tribunal as is for the time being specified in Schedule 1 to this Act.

Any order under the foregoing provisions of this section may make any such adaptations of the provisions of this Act as may be necessary or expedient in consequence of the order.

The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Advocate may by order—

Nothing in this section shall authorise the making of an order with respect to a tribunal having jurisdiction only over matters with respect to which the Parliament of Northern Ireland has power to make laws.

Any power of the Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate or either of them to make rules or orders under this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any power of those Ministers to make orders under any section of this Act includes power to vary or revoke any order under that section by a subsequent order but any such subsequent order under section 12(6) of this Act shall be made only after consultation with the Council.

The enactments specified in Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments there specified, being amendments consequential on this Act.

The enactments specified in Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Part ; and the orders specified in Part II of that Schedule are hereby revoked.

Any appointment, designation, determination, rule or order made, any approval or consent given and any other thing done under or for the purposes of any provision repealed or revoked by this Act shall, if in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, have effect as if made, given or done under or for the purposes of the corresponding enactment in this Act; and any proceedings or other thing begun under or by virtue of any provision so repealed or revoked may be continued under this Act as if begun thereunder.

So much of any document as refers expressly or by implication to any provision repealed or revoked by this Act shall, if and so far as the nature of the subject-matter of the document permits, be construed as referring to this Act or the corresponding enactment therein as the case may require.

Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice the general application of F1sections 16(1) and 17(2)(a) of the M1Interpretation Act 1978 with regard to the effect of repeals.

In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

• “the Council” means the Council on Tribunals;

• “Minister” includes any Board presided over by a Minister;

• “the Scottish Committee” means the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals;

• “statutory inquiry” means—

  1. (a)

     an inquiry or hearing held or to be held in pursuance of a duty imposed by any statutory provision; or

  2. (b)

     an inquiry or hearing, or an inquiry or hearing of a class, designated for the purposes of this section by an order under subsection (2) of this section;

• “statutory provision” means a provision contained in, or having effect under, any enactment.

The Lord Chancellor and F1the Lord Advocate may by order designate for the purposes of this section any inquiry or hearing held or to be held in pursuance of a power conferred by any statutory provision specified or described in the order, or any class of such inquiries or hearings.

References in this Act to members of tribunals include references to the person constituting a tribunal consisting of one person.

References in this Act to the working or a decision of, or procedural rules for, any such tribunals as are specified in paragraph 17, 22, 29(a), (b) or (c), 30, 35, 41 or 46 F2or the Data Protection Registrar referred to in paragraph 5A, F3or the Director General of Fair Trading referred to in paragraph F46A or the Controller of Plant Variety Rights referred to in paragraph 25(a), of Schedule 1 to this Act do not include references to their working, decisions or procedure in the exercise of executive functions.

This Act may be cited as the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971.

This Act shall come into force at the expiration of the period of one month beginning with the day on which it is passed.

It is hereby declared that this Act extends to Northern Ireland.

Any person appointed by the appropriate authority before 1st January 1959 to be chairman of any tribunal to which section 7(1) of this Act applies shall from that day and during the continuance of his appointment be deemed to be, and to have been, a member of a panel constituted by the Lord Chancellor for the purposes of that tribunal and to have been selected by the appropriate authority to be chairman of the tribunal.

Any person appointed by the appropriate authority before 1st January 1959 to be a member of a panel from which apart from this Act the chairman of the tribunal would fall to be selected shall from that day and during the continuance of his appointment be deemed to be, and to have been, a member of a panel constituted by the Lord Chancellor for the purposes of that tribunal.

Any power to terminate any such appointment as is mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall be exercisable by, and only by, the Lord Chancellor.

Subsections (5), (7) and (8) of section 7 of this Act shall have effect in relation to this paragraph as they have effect in relation to that section.