Hearings

Tribunal hearings will be otherwise than in public
Directions, case management and determination hearings will take place in the Tribunal’s three hearing rooms on the 3^rd floor of the Infinity Building.

Hearings before the Tribunal will, by default, be held otherwise than in public. This means that attendance at a Tribunal hearing will be restricted to the parties to the claim, their lawyers, witnesses and such individuals as the claimant may reasonably consider necessary to have in attendance for emotional support. Members of the public and representatives from the media will not be entitled to attend Tribunal hearings.

However, a claimant may request that the Tribunal hold a hearing or part of a hearing in public. If a claimant wishes to make such a request the Tribunal Office should be notified as soon as possible following the issuing of a claim but no later than 1 week before the date fixed for the initial directions or case management hearing.

Directions and Case Management hearings
The dates for directions and case management hearings will be allocated by the Tribunal Office when the claim is issued.

A directions date will be assigned to claims which are already the subject of proceedings before a Court. The date assigned for the directions hearing will be the earliest convenient date following the expiry of the time permitted for service of the Claim Form (7 days from the date of issue of the Claim Form).

A case management date will be assigned to claims which are not already the subject of proceedings before a court. The date for case management will be the earliest available date following the expiry of 30 weeks after the date of issue of the Claim Form.

The audio of each case management and directions hearing will be recorded and retained by the Tribunal Office.

Determination hearings
A start and end date for each determination hearing will be assigned by a Tribunal Member at a directions or case management hearing. The Tribunal intends to issue a Practice Direction in relation to the time limits which will apply to each step of the determination hearing. A draft of that Practice Direction can be accessed on the Rules and Practice Directions page.     

It is envisaged that all three members of the Tribunal will sit together to hear the first two or three claims which are ready for hearing. All further determination hearings will be conducted by a member sitting alone.

The Tribunal will arrange for a Stenographer to attend on each day of a determination hearing. If requested, the transcripts of the determination hearing will be made available to the parties by the Tribunal Office.

Facilities available on hearing days
When a determination hearing is ongoing the claimant will have access to a private room with comfortable seating, a television and WiFi. This room will comfortably accommodate up to 6 people and will be available for use by the claimant and any accompanying friends/family for the duration of the determination hearing. There will also be a tea station outside the private room where tea and coffee will be available.

A number of consultation rooms will be available to the parties and their legal representatives on hearing days.