Rule 1 InterpretationI1

In these Rules—

• “the 2014 Act” means the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014;

• F1“the 2024 Act” means the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024;

• “Appeal Appendix” means all the documents and authorities to be relied on for the purpose of the appeal along with an inventory;

• “appellant” means—

  1. (a)

     a person who makes an appeal to the Upper Tribunal;

  2. (b)

     a person who has had an application to the First-tier Tribunal transferred to the Upper Tribunal; or

  3. (c)

     in any case, a person substituted as an appellant under rule 11(1) (addition, substitution and removal of parties);

• F2“compatibility question” has the meaning given by section 31(1) of the 2024 Act;

• “Convention rights” has the meaning given to it in section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998^f1;

• “document” means anything in which information is recorded in any form;

• “excluded decision” means a decision referred to in section 51 of the 2014 Act;

• “hearing” means an oral hearing and includes a hearing conducted in whole or in part by video link, telephone or other means of instantaneous two-way electronic communication;

• “interested party” means a person other than the appellant or respondent on whom the First-tier Tribunal has ordered the proceedings before it to be served;

• “party” means a person who is (or was at the time that the Upper Tribunal disposed of the proceedings) an appellant or respondent in proceedings before the Upper Tribunal;

• “practice direction” means a practice direction issued in terms of section 74 of the 2014 Act;

• “President” means the President of Tribunals;

• “proceedings” includes, unless indicated otherwise, a part of the proceedings;

• F3“relevant authorities” means the Lord Advocate, the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland or the Scottish Commission for Human Rights;

• “respondent” means—

  1. (a)

     in an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal, that tribunal and any person other than the appellant who—

     1. (i)

        was a party before the First-tier Tribunal;

     2. (ii)

        otherwise has a right of appeal against the decision of the First-tier Tribunal and has given notice to the Upper Tribunal that they wish to be a party to the appeal;

  2. (b)

     in proceedings transferred or referred to the Upper Tribunal from the First-tier Tribunal, a person who was a respondent in the proceedings in the First-tier Tribunal; or

  3. (c)

     in any case, a person substituted or added as a respondent under rule 11 (addition, substitution and removal of parties);

• “review period” means the time period between an application by a party for a review under rule 30(1), or, as the case may be, the Upper Tribunal’s decision to review a decision under that rule, and the receipt by a party of a notification under rule 30(6); and

• “witness statement” means a written statement of a witness ordered by the Upper Tribunal to stand for the evidence-in-chief of the witness.