Senior President

What's new

15 June 2010 – Paul Stockton, director of Tribunals Judicial Office awarded CBE

I am delighted that Paul Stockton, director of Tribunals Judicial Office was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours. As many of you will be aware Paul was a motivating and driving force behind the 2004 White Paper Transforming Public Services: Complaints, Redress and Tribunals as well as leading the policy development work for the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act and managing the Bill through onto the statute book and into operation.

Paul and I have worked closely together over a number of years and this well deserved honour reflects his personal and longstanding commitment to administrative and tribunal justice – congratulations!

Robert Carnwath

11 June 2010 – Judicial Guidance for Researchers

• Judicial Guidance for Researchers (Adobe PDF file size 34kb)

26 May 2010 – Forms of address

Guidance on Forms of address

• Forms of address (Adobe PDF file size 23kb)

06 April 2010 – Next landmark reached as three more tribunals join new system

The next landmark for the streamlined, unified system for tribunals will be reached today as three more tribunals join the two-tier system.

• View the full Tribunals Service Press Notice (Adobe PDF file size 33kb)

24 March 2010 – Tribunals Senior President looks forward to new tribunals joining the unified structure

Lord Justice Carnwath, Senior President of Tribunals, is looking forward to the next step in the growth of his remit, with the transfer of further tribunals into the two-tier tribunal structure. This structure, created in November 2008 under the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, has already brought a wide range of previously separate tribunals together under the unified system.

Pending Parliamentary approval, on 6 April the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal and the Pensions Regulator Tribunal will both transfer into the Tax and Chancery Chamber of the Upper Tribunal. To read more about the changes visit the relevant pages on this site (http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/financeandtax/).

24 March 2010 – Sir Robert Carnwath joins the Lord Chief Justice's Judicial Executive Board

The Lord Chief Justice has reconsidered the governance and advisory structures that support him. As a result he has asked the Senior President to join the Judicial Executive Board as a full member with immediate effect.

24 March 2010 – New deputy High Court Judges

Robert Carnwath is pleased to announce that three tribunal judges have been approved as Deputy High Court judges under s 9 of the SCA 1981: Phillip Sycamore President of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber; Christopher Mather of the Upper Chamber for Immigration and Asylum and Nicholas Paines from the Tax and Administrative Appeals Chambers. Congratulations to them all.

15 March 2010 – The Prime Minister’s announcement

The Ministry of Justice has asked us to pass on the following message on remuneration.

The Prime Minister announced on 10 March the Government’s decision on the latest recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body for the judiciary.

The Review Body has recommended no general increase in pay for its remit groups, including the judiciary for 2010–11. The Government accepts this recommendation, which is consistent with the evidence it submitted to the Review Body in October last year. There will, therefore, be no changes to judicial salaries and fees as a result of any annual pay settlement during 2010–11.

However, some salaried and fee paid tribunals judiciary are receiving increments of phased increases, introduced from 1 November 2009, further to the introduction of a new pay structure for legally qualified tribunals judiciary. These increases are not conventional annual pay rises, but rather the outcome of a pay rationalisation exercise and as such are unaffected by the announcement of 10 March.

25 February 2010 – Lord Justice Carnwath statement on the Neuberger Report

I welcome the Report of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity and echo the views of the Lord Chief Justice. I look forward in particular to exploring the concept of a judicial career that spans both courts and tribunals in a unified judiciary. The flexibility offered by the new tribunal system makes tribunals an attractive entry point to a judicial career which many tribunal judges already combine successfully with caring and other professional commitments.

• View the full news release Link to the The Ministry of Justice website

24 February 2010 – Senior President of Tribunals publishes Annual Report

The Senior President of Tribunals publishes his first annual report drawing together the tribunals reform story so far.

• Senior President of Tribunals publishes Annual Report (Adobe PDF file size 876kb)
• Statistical Annex to the Senior President's Report (Adobe PDF file size 6kb)

Immigration Tribunal joins new tribunal structure

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) moves into the new two-tier Tribunals Service structure

• View the full TS Press Notice (Adobe PDF file size 238kb)

Tribunal reform continues

The Tribunals Service's programme of reform continued with the transfer of six more jurisdictions into the unified structure on 18 January. Five new jurisdictions moved into the General Regulatory Chamber, within the First-tier Tribunal, and the Family Health Services Appeal Authority (FHSAA) transferred into the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber. Judicial members within the transferring jurisdictions have moved into the respective Chambers, preserving judicial expertise and ensuring continuity of service for users.

• View the TS Press Notice 30kb

A New Electronic Expenses Claim System - iExpenses

Next year the MoJ's corporate finance team plans to introduce a new electronic expenses (iExpenses) system which will replace the current paper based TS process.

• iExpenses Briefing 30kb

The Government is consulting on the future of the Parole Board

The Senior President, with the support of the Tribunals Judiciary Executive Board, has responded to the questions asked in the consultation.

• Parole Board Consultation 50kb

Announcement of Mr Justice Blake as President for the new Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal

The Senior President, Sir Robert Carnwath CVO, is delighted that Mr Justice Blake has been appointed by the Lord Chancellor to be the first President of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal when it comes into being (subject to parliamentary approval) in February 2010.

• More Information Link to the The Ministry of Justice website

Senior President's Assignment Policy

On the 16th September the Senior President published his Assignment Policy. The policy document is made under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, Schedule 4, paragraph 13 and replaces the Senior President's earlier statement in relation to the First-Tier Tax Chamber.

The power to assign judiciary between chambers and tribunals exists primarily to allow the work of the chambers to be dealt with in the most efficient and effective manner. Assignment will be used where the chamber or tribunal would benefit from the extra help which it can bring.

Read the full assignment policy 75kb

Third Implementation Review

On 10th July, the Senior President published his Third Implementation Review. This follows the First and Second Reviews published in June and October of 2008 and can be found elsewhere on this page.

This Third Review brings the story up to date and outlines what will happen in the next few months. There have been two significant additions to the new system the Lands Chamber and the Tax Chamber. Next will be the establishment of the General Regulatory Chamber in the First-tier and the transfer of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.

Read the full review 338kb