AG v Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland [Sheriff Principal]
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Judgment Date | 11 January 2006 |
| Date | 11 January 2006 |
| Court | Sheriff Principal (Scotland) |
Sheriff Principal EF Bowen
Wilson for AG, McGinty for the Mental Health Officer, Kennedy for the Tribunal.
Whether a transcript of a Tribunal hearing should be made; the correct appeal procedure; whether the Tribunal should appear at an appeal.
On 18 November 2005, AG was made the subject of a Community Treatment Order under s. 64 Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. He appealed to the Sheriff Principal under s. 320, arguing that the Tribunal had unreasonably failed to grant an adjournment to allow further evidence to be obtained. At a procedural hearing, an order was sought that the tape recording of the proceedings before the Tribunal be transcribed because it was suggested that the written decision was inaccurate as it recorded that full submissions had been made when they had not (the adjournment having been sought to obtain further evidence in order to make full submissions). The Tribunal, although accepting that announcements were made at the start of hearings that they were tape recorded "for the purpose of appeals", argued that there was no statutory authority for ordering transcription, that superior courts were generally reluctant to look beyond the written statement of reasons given by Tribunals, and that an appeal against an exercise of discretion should not involve examination of the whole proceedings.
Further issues arose, namely the correct form for an appeal (AG having adopted the format used in the Ordinary Cause Rules) and whether the Tribunal should appear as a party.
1. This is an appeal under s. 320 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 against a decision of the Mental Health Tribunal dated 18 November 2005 in terms of which the appellant was made the subject of a CTO under s. 64(4)(a). Section 324(7) of the Act provides that regulations may specify the period within which an appeal under s. 320(2) shall be made. Regrettably no such regulations appear to have been promulgated. The appeal was marked within 14 days of 18 November. In the absence of any statutory guidance the appellant's agents lodged a form of Note of Appeal in the style of Form A1 in the appendix to the Ordinary Cause Rules. The substance of the ground of appeal is that the Mental Health Tribunal acted unreasonably in the exercise of its discretion by failing to grant a...
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