Consumer Credit Bill

House of Commons

Session 2004 - 05
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Consumer Credit Bill

54
Consumer Credit Bill
Schedule 1 — Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act

Schedules
Schedule 1
Section 55

Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
SCHEDULE A1
The Consumer Credit Appeals Tribunal
5
Part 1
Interpretation
1
In this Schedule—
“the Deputy President” means the Deputy President of the Consumer
Credit Appeals Tribunal;
10
“lay panel” means the panel established under paragraph 3(3);
“panel of chairmen” means the panel established under paragraph 3(1);
“party” means, in relation to an appeal, the appellant or the OFT;
“the President” means the President of the Consumer Credit Appeals
Tribunal;
15
“rules” means rules under section 40A(3) of this Act;
“specified” means specified by rules.
Part 2
The Tribunal
The President and the Deputy President
20
2     (1)
The Lord Chancellor shall appoint one of the members of the panel of
chairmen to preside over the discharge of the Tribunal’s functions.
      (2)
The person so appointed shall be known as the President of the Consumer
Credit Appeals Tribunal.
      (3)
The Lord Chancellor may appoint one of the members of the panel of
25
chairmen to be the Deputy President of the Consumer Credit Appeals
Tribunal.
      (4)
The Deputy President shall have such functions in relation to the Tribunal as
the President may assign to him.
      (5)
If the President or the Deputy President ceases to be a member of the panel
30
of chairmen, he shall also cease to be the President or (as the case may be) the
Deputy President.

Consumer Credit Bill
Schedule 1 — Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
55

      (6)
The functions of the President may, if he is absent or is otherwise unable to
act, be discharged—
(a)
by the Deputy President; or
(b)
if there is no Deputy President or he too is absent or otherwise unable
to act, by a person appointed for that purpose from the panel of
5
chairmen by the Lord Chancellor.
Panels
3     (1)
The Lord Chancellor shall appoint a panel of persons for the purpose of
serving as chairmen of the Tribunal.
      (2)
A person shall not be appointed to the panel of chairmen unless he—
10
(a)
has a seven year general qualification within the meaning of section
71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;
(b)
is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least seven years’
standing; or
(c)
is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland, or a solicitor of the
15
Supreme Court of Northern Ireland, of at least seven years’ standing.
      (3)
The Lord Chancellor shall also appoint a panel of persons who appear to
him to be qualified by experience or otherwise to deal with appeals of the
kind that may be made to the Tribunal.
Terms of office etc.
20
4     (1)
Each member of the panel of chairmen or the lay panel shall hold and vacate
office in accordance with the terms of his appointment.
      (2)
The Lord Chancellor may remove a member of either panel from office on
the ground of incapacity or misbehaviour.
      (3)
A member of either panel—
25
(a)
may at any time resign office by notice in writing to the Lord
Chancellor;
(b)
is eligible for re-appointment if he ceases to hold office.
Remuneration and allowances
5
The Lord Chancellor may pay to a person in respect of his service—
30
(a)
as the President or the Deputy President,
(b)
as a member of the Tribunal, or
(c)
as a person appointed under paragraph 7(4),

such remuneration and allowances as the Lord Chancellor may determine.
Staff and costs
35
6     (1)
The Lord Chancellor may appoint such staff for the Tribunal as he may
determine.
      (2)
The Lord Chancellor shall defray—
(a)
the remuneration of the Tribunal’s staff; and
(b)
such other costs of the Tribunal as he may determine.
40

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Schedule 1 — Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
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Part 3
Constitution of the Tribunal
7     (1)
On an appeal to the Tribunal, the persons to act as members of the Tribunal
for the purposes of the appeal shall be selected from the panel of chairmen
or the lay panel.
5
      (2)
The selection shall be in accordance with arrangements made by the
President for the purposes of this paragraph.
      (3)
Those arrangements shall provide for at least one member to be a person
selected from the panel of chairmen.
      (4)
If it appears to the Tribunal that a matter before it involves a question of fact
10
of special difficulty, it may appoint one or more experts to provide
assistance.
Part 4
Tribunal powers and procedure
Sittings
15
8
The Tribunal shall sit at such times and in such places as the Lord Chancellor
may direct.
Evidence
9     (1)
Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the Tribunal may, on an appeal, consider any
evidence that it thinks relevant, whether or not it was available to the OFT
20
at the time it made the determination appealed against.
      (2)
Rules may make provision restricting the evidence that the Tribunal may
consider on an appeal in specified circumstances.
Rules on procedure
10
Rules may include, amongst other things, provision—
25
(a)
about the withdrawal of appeals;
(b)
about persons who may appear on behalf of a party to an appeal;
(c)
about how an appeal is to be dealt with if a person acting as member
of the Tribunal in respect of the appeal becomes unable to act;
(d)
setting time limits in relation to anything that is to be done for the
30
purposes of an appeal or for such limits to be set by the Tribunal or
a member of the panel of chairmen;
(e)
for time limits to be extended by the Tribunal or a member of the
panel of chairmen;
(f)
conferring powers on the Tribunal or a member of the panel of
35
chairmen to give such directions to the parties to an appeal as it or he
thinks fit for purposes connected with the conduct and disposal of
the appeal;
(g)
about the holding of hearings by the Tribunal or a member of the
panel of chairmen (including for such hearings to be held in private);
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Schedule 1 — Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
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(h)
placing restrictions on the disclosure of information and documents
or for such restrictions to be imposed by the Tribunal or a member of
the panel of chairmen;
(i)
about the consequences of a failure to comply with a requirement
imposed by or under any rule (including for the immediate dismissal
5
or allowing of an appeal if the Tribunal or a member of the panel of
chairmen thinks fit);
(j)
for proceedings on different appeals (including appeals with
different appellants) to take place concurrently;
(k)
for the suspension of determinations of the OFT which have taken
10
effect;
(l)
for the suspension of decisions of the Tribunal pending an appeal
from the Tribunal or from a court;
(m)
for the Tribunal to reconsider its decision disposing of an appeal
where it has reason to believe that the decision was wrongly made
15
because of an administrative error made by a member of its staff.
Council of Tribunals
11
A member of the Council of Tribunals or of its Scottish Committee shall be
entitled—
(a)
to attend any hearing held by the Tribunal or a member of the panel
20
of chairmen whether or not it is held in public; and
(b)
to attend any deliberations of the Tribunal in relation to an appeal.
Disposal of appeals
12    (1)
The Tribunal shall decide an appeal by reference to the grounds of appeal set
out in the notice of appeal.
25
      (2)
In disposing of an appeal the Tribunal may do one or more of the
following—
(a)
confirm the determination appealed against;
(b)
quash that determination;
(c)
vary that determination;
30
(d)
remit the matter to the OFT for reconsideration and determination in
accordance with the directions (if any) given to it by the Tribunal;
(e)
give the OFT directions for the purpose of giving effect to its
decision.
      (3)
In the case of an appeal against a determination to impose a penalty, the
35
Tribunal—
(a)
has no power by virtue of sub-paragraph (2)(c) to increase the
penalty;
(b)
may extend the period within which the penalty is to be paid
(including in cases where that period has already ended).
40
      (4)
Sub-paragraph (3) does not affect—
(a)
the Tribunal’s power to give directions to the OFT under sub-
paragraph (2)(d); or
(b)
what the OFT can do where a matter is remitted to it under that sub-
paragraph.
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Schedule 1 — Schedule A1 to the 1974 Act
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      (5)
Where the Tribunal remits a matter to the OFT, it may direct that the
requirements of section 34 of this Act are not to apply, or are only to apply
to a specified extent, in relation to the OFT’s reconsideration of the matter.
      (6)
Where the Tribunal remits an application to the OFT, for the purposes of the
OFT’s reconsideration of the application subsections (1) and (3) to (9) of
5
section 6 of this Act shall apply as if the application had been made when it
was remitted to the OFT.
Decisions of the Tribunal
13    (1)
A decision of the Tribunal may be taken by majority.
      (2)
A decision of the Tribunal disposing of an appeal shall—
10
(a)
state whether it was unanimous or taken by majority; and
(b)
be recorded in a document which—
(i)
contains a statement of the reasons for the decision and any
other specified information; and
(ii)
is signed and dated by a member of the panel of chairmen.
15
      (3)
Where the Tribunal disposes of an appeal it shall—
(a)
send to each party to the appeal a copy of the document mentioned
in sub-paragraph (2)(b); and
(b)
publish that document in such manner as it thinks fit.
      (4)
The Tribunal may exclude from what it publishes under sub-paragraph
20
(3)(b) information of a specified description.
Costs
14    (1)
Where the Tribunal disposes of an appeal and—
(a)
it decides that the OFT was wrong to make the determination
appealed against, or
25
(b)
during the course of the appeal the OFT accepted that it was wrong
to make that determination,

it may order the OFT to pay to the appellant the whole or a part of the costs
or expenses incurred by the appellant in relation to the appeal.
      (2)
In determining whether to make such an order, and the terms of such an
30
order, the Tribunal shall have regard to whether it was unreasonable for the
OFT to make the determination appealed against.
15
Where—
(a)
the Tribunal disposes of an appeal or an appeal is withdrawn before
the Tribunal disposes of it, and
35
(b)
the Tribunal thinks that a party to the appeal acted vexatiously,
frivolously or unreasonably in bringing the appeal or otherwise in
relation to the appeal,

it may order that party to pay to the other party the whole or a part of the
costs or expenses incurred by the other party in relation to the appeal.
40
16
An order of the Tribunal under paragraph 14 or 15 may be enforced—
(a)
as if it were an order of the county court; or
(b)
in Scotland, as if it were an interlocutor of the Court of Session.