SCHEDULE
The General Pharmaceutical Council (Appeals Committee) Rules 2010
The General Pharmaceutical Council makes these Rules in exercise of the powers conferred by articles 61(1) to (3) and (6), 63(4), 64(8) and 66(1) of, and paragraph 5(1)(e) and (3)(d) of Schedule 1 to, the Pharmacy Order 2010.
In accordance with article 66(3) of that Order, the General Pharmaceutical Council has, in relation to rules under Part 7 of that Order, consulted such persons or organisations as it considered appropriate including persons and organisations listed in paragraphs (a) to (h) of article 66(3) of that Order.
1. Citation and commencement
These Rules may be cited as the General Pharmaceutical Council (Appeals Committee) Rules 2010 and come into force on 27th September 2010.
2. Interpretation
(1) In these Rules—
“the Order” means the Pharmacy Order 2010;
“the Statutory Committees and their Advisers Rules” means the General Pharmaceutical Council (Statutory Committees and their Advisers) Rules 20103;
“appealable decision” means an appealable decision within the meaning of article 39 of the Order;
“appellant” means—
(a) a person in respect of whom an appealable decision has been made (within the meaning of article 40 of the Order) who is appealing against that decision; or
(b) in the case of an appealable decision to which article 47(6)(a) or (b) of the Order applies, an institution or other provider which is appealing against that decision,
(or, where appropriate, their representatives);
“case officer” means the person representing the Council in matters relating to the appeal other than at a hearing;
“the chair” means the chair of the Committee;
“the Committee” means the Appeals Committee established under article 4(6)(c) of the Order;
“Notice of Appeal” means a notice of an appeal against an appealable decision given in accordance with paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of article 40 of the Order;
“Notice of Hearing” is to be construed in accordance with rules 5(f) and 6;
“parties” means the Council and the appellant (or, where appropriate, their representatives) and “party” is to be construed accordingly;
“the presenter” means the representative of the Council presenting the case at a hearing (and includes employees of the Council);
“secretary” means the secretary to the Committee; and
“witness” means a person giving oral evidence at a hearing, including an appellant giving oral evidence.
(2) For the purposes of these Rules—
(a)
(a) a meeting or hearing of the Committee, other than when it is deliberating in private, is considered to be “in private” if it is held in the presence of—
(i) the parties and any person present who is representing a party,
(ii) the person acting as secretary,
(iii) any witness giving evidence,
(iv) any legal, clinical or specialist adviser,
(v) any person responsible for the recording of the proceedings, or
(vi) any other person whose presence is deemed necessary by the chair of the Committee,
but otherwise excluding everyone else; and
(b)
(b) the private deliberations of the Committee are considered to be “in private” if they are held in the presence of—
(i) the person acting as secretary,
(ii) any legal adviser, or
(iii) any person responsible for the recording of the proceedings,
but otherwise excluding everyone else.
3. Service of documents
(1) For the purposes of these Rules any notice or document required to be served by the secretary must be in writing and must, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), be served by sending it by a postal service or another delivery service to, or by leaving it at—
(a)
(a) in the case of an individual who is a registrant, the registrant’s home address in the Register;
(b)
(b) in the case of an individual who is not a registrant, the individual’s last known home address;
(c)
(c) in the case of a partnership, the principal office of that partnership;
(d)
(d) in the case of a body corporate, the registered or principal address of that body corporate; and
(e)
(e) in the case of an institution or other provider which is appealing against a decision under article 47(6)(a) or (b) of the Order, the last known address of that institution or other provider.
(2) If a person to whom a notice or document is to be sent under these Rules so agrees, notices or documents may be sent by electronic mail to an electronic mail address notified by that person to the secretary as an address for communications.
(3) If a person to whom a notice or document is to be sent under these Rules so agrees, notices or documents may be sent to or left at—
(a)
(a) where the person is represented by a solicitor, the solicitor’s practising or electronic mail address; or
(b)
(b) where the person is represented by a defence organisation or trade union, the business or electronic mail address of that defence organisation or trade union.
(4) In paragraphs (2) and (3), references to “person” include references to a person representing an institution or other provider referred to in paragraph (1)(e).
(5) Where any notice or document is sent by the secretary by a postal service, unless sent by a service which records the date of delivery, it must be sent by first class post and is to be treated as having been served on the day after the day on which it was posted.
(6) Where any notice or document is sent by electronic mail or left at an address, it is to be treated as having been served on the day at which it was sent to or left at that address.
4. Notice of Appeal
(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a Notice of Appeal will only be valid if it is in the format described in paragraph (2)4.
(2) The Notice of Appeal must—
(a)
(a) state that it is a Notice of Appeal;
(b)
(b) provide the full name and address of the appellant;
(c)
(c) provide a daytime telephone number at which the appellant can be contacted;
(d)
(d) where the appeal relates to a registrant who has been entered in Part 1, 2, 4 or 5 of the Register, state the number of that entry;
(e)
(e) where the appeal relates to a registered pharmacy which has been entered in Part 3 of the Register, state the number of that entry;
(f)
(f) state whether the appellant is to be represented in the course of the proceedings, and if so, provide contact details for the representative;
(g)
(g) state the date of the decision being appealed against;
(h)
(h) set out the decision being appealed against;
(i)
(i) set out the grounds on which the appeal is being brought;
(j)
(j) be accompanied by copies of any material—
(i) submitted by the appellant to the Registrar or the body that made the appealable decision prior to the appealable decision being taken, and
(ii) not so submitted, but on which the appellant intends to rely in the course of the appeal proceedings;
(k)
(k) be accompanied by a skeleton argument containing the submissions of the appellant;
(l)
(l) state whether the appellant wishes the appeal to be considered on the papers or at a hearing; and
(m)
(m) in a case where the appellant wishes a hearing to be held, state whether the appellant wishes to have a case management meeting, and if so, the issues that the appellant wishes to be considered at that meeting.
(3) At a case management meeting, the chair may—
(a)
(a) extend the time for delivery of the skeleton argument and any additional material necessary to determine the appeal; and
(b)
(b) allow the appellant to amend the details regarding representation provided under paragraph (2)(f).
5. Action following receipt of Notice of Appeal
Following receipt of the Notice of Appeal, the secretary must—
(a) acknowledge receipt of the Notice of Appeal and the accompanying material submitted by the appellant;
(b) send copies of the Notice of Appeal and the accompanying material to a case officer;
(c) require the case officer to provide the secretary with copies of all documents on which the Council intends to rely in defending the appeal;
(d) send copies of any documents provided by the case officer under paragraph (c) to the appellant or (where applicable) the appellant’s representative;
(e) as soon as possible, inform the parties of the date—
(i) of any case management meeting (if the chair decides that one should be held), and
(ii) on which the Committee will consider the appeal (which, in the case of a hearing, unless the parties agree otherwise, must be no less than 28 days after the date on which the secretary serves the Notice of Hearing); and
(f) where the appellant has stated that the appellant wishes the Committee to consider the appeal at a hearing, send a...
