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Charity, Estate Agents Appeals and Consumer Credit Appeals tribunals abolished as reformation continues at full speed

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 01 September 2009

Today (1 September) marks the end of the Charity Tribunal, Estate Agents Appeals Panel and the Consumer Credit Appeals Tribunal, as a new regime for dealing with these disputes kicks in.

Although the tribunals will no longer exist as separate entities, their jurisdictions – along with part of the Transport Tribunal - will be transferred into the new General Regulatory Chamber (GRC) of the First-tier Tribunal . This means that people and organisations appealing on the various issues covered by the previous tribunals will now submit their appeals to the GRC instead. Onward appeals will be to the Upper Tribunal, which sits within the same structure. The existing judiciary and staff from the previous four tribunals will be moving across into the two-tier system to ensure that valuable expertise is preserved.

Kevin Sadler, Chief Executive of the Tribunals Service said: “Getting the GRC up and running is the next step in a long, complex and ambitious programme of reform for the Tribunals Service.

“And the new tribunal structure is now really starting to take shape. We’ve already had the transfer of several major jurisdictions into the unified structure and we now have specialist chambers well-established in the First-tier and the Upper Tribunal.

"These changes are all designed to improve the tribunal process, making it more user-focused, consistent, streamlined and efficient across the board. We expect to complete all the transfers across into the unified structure early next year."

The GRC sits in the First-tier Tribunal of the unified structure that was created as part of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and will hear appeals across a range of similar regulatory issues.

This is the first wave of tribunals that are transferring into the GRC with five other tribunals, including the Information Tribunal, planned to move across in January next year. The acting Chamber President of the GRC is Professor John Angel, currently the President of the Information Tribunal.

For further information on the changes and to find out more about the new two-tier tribunal structure visit www.tribunals.gov.uk.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Nadia Mahmud
Senior Press Officer

Notes to editors

* The Tribunals Service provides administration and support to various tribunals throughout the UK. An executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, it was formed in 2006 to:
* Provide responsive, efficient administration of the tribunals;
* Promote and protect the independence of the judiciary;
* Contribute to the improvement of the quality of decision-making across government; and
* Reform the tribunals justice system for the benefit of its customers and the wider public. For further information and the latest news on the Tribunals Service visit www.tribunals.gov.uk.

Contacts:

Nadia Mahmud
Phone: 0203 334 6510
nadia.nahmud@tribunals.gsi.gov.uk