Bringing an Appeal

Document Cited authorities (24) Cited in Related
AuthorAndrew Bano
Pages217-226

Chapter 26

Bringing an Appeal

PROCEDURE
26.1 The procedure for bringing an appeal under the Pensions Appeal Tribunals Act 1943 is governed by the separate rules of procedure in each of the three UK jurisdictions. Appeals brought by persons resident in England and Wales or abroad are dealt with by the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, and appeals brought by those resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland are dealt with by the Pensions Appeal Tribunals in those jurisdictions.1Proceedings can be transferred from one tribunal to another if the appellant changes address.2An appeal can also be transferred from England and Wales to Scotland or Northern Ireland if the appellant resided abroad when the proceedings were started and if the appellant has a closer connection with Scotland or Northern Ireland than with England and Wales, or if there is some other good reason for the appeal to be heard in Scotland or Northern Ireland. If the tribunal refuses such a request, it must send the appellant written reasons for the refusal.3

26.2 In England and Wales and in Northern Ireland an appeal is brought by sending or delivering a notice of appeal to DBS Veterans UK,4although in England and Wales the appeal can also be brought by letter containing the information required by rule 21(1) of the England and Wales Procedure Rules. In Scotland appeals are now brought5by sending the completed notice of appeal to

1Pensions Appeal Tribunals Act 1943, Sch 1, para 6.

2Under powers conferred by Pensions Appeal Tribunals Act 1943, Sch 1, para 6B.

3England and Wales Procedure Rules, r 19.

4The form can be downloaded from the DBS Veterans UK website at www.gov.uk/government/ collections/armed-forces-compensation.

5As a result of amendments to the Scotland Procedure Rules made by Pensions Appeal Tribunals

(Scotland) (Amendment) Rules 2017 (SI 2017/367) (Scottish SI), r 2(3).

218 War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation – Law and Practice

the Scottish Pensions Appeal Office.6Rule 21(1) of the England and Wales Procedure Rules provides that an appellant must start proceedings by sending or delivering a notice of appeal to the decision-maker so that it is received within 12 months after the date on which written notice of the decision being challenged was sent to the appellant. Rule 3 of the Scotland and Northern Ireland Procedure Rules allows for appeals to be brought by a person on behalf of persons under the age of 16 and claimants under a disability, without the need for the formal appointment of a representative.

26.3 The procedure whereby in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland a notice of appeal is sent to the body responsible for the decision under appeal, rather than to the tribunal, is unsatisfactory. As well as being inefficient, it results in the decision-maker having a significant measure of control over the initial stages of an appeal against one of its own decisions, and is therefore inconsistent with the principle underlying the Leggatt reforms in England and Wales7that tribunals should be seen to be independent of government. The Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2014 commented:

Members of the Armed Forces community are unique in the judicial process in that they have to lodge an appeal with the defendant organisation rather than appeal directly to the tribunal. While the implications of this process might only be with respect to the timing of the hearing of an appeal, they have an impact on perceptions.8

Agreement in principle has now been reached for appeals to be brought directly to tribunals, rather than to the decision-maker, in the remaining jurisdictions at some future date.

Form of notice of appeal
26.4 Rule 21(5) of the England and Wales Procedure Rules provides that the notice of appeal must be in English or Welsh and must be signed by the appellant. It must state:

(a) the name and address of the appellant;
(b) the name and address of the appellant’s representative (if any);
(c) an address where documents for the appellant may be sent or delivered;
(d) details (including the full reference) of the decision being appealed;
(e) the grounds on which the appellant relies.

6The address of the Office is 126 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4HH.

7See Chapter 24, n 5.

8Ministry of Defence, The Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2014 (Ministry of Defence,
2014), p 16.

Although the rule provides that the notice of appeal must be signed by the appellant, in CO v London Borough of Havering,9Judge Wikeley held that the identical requirement in rule 23(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 200810was satisfied if the notice of appeal was signed on the appellant’s behalf by the appellant’s solicitor. Rule 7(2) of the England and Wales Procedure Rules allows the tribunal to waive any failure to comply with a requirement of the Rules, and in Salisbury Independent Living v Wirral MBC (HB),11Judge Rowland stated that the requirement for a notice of appeal to be ‘signed by the appellant’ would generally be waived if the notice of appeal is signed by a representative, such as a welfare rights worker or Citizens Advice representative, who provides signed authority to bring the appeal. Rule 4 of the Scotland and Northern Ireland Procedure Rules expressly provides that the notice of appeal can be signed on behalf of the appellant, but requires the date of signature to be stated and the document to be sent by post addressed to the Secretary of State for Defence. In England and Wales the form of notice of appeal is not prescribed, but does have to include the information...

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