User Focused Tribunal Hearings

The aims are to:

1. Investigate the extent to which, following statutory reform and an ongoing programme of modernisation, the tribunal system is user-focused.

2. Develop models for the conduct of user-focused hearings, based on the lived experiences of appellants and other stakeholders, which can shape future tribunal policy and practice.

The objectives are to:

A. Compare approaches to the conduct of hearings between different tribunal chambers and between tribunals operating on a Great Britain/ England-only basis and a Scotland-only basis;

B. Examine how, in practice, the judicialisation of the tribunal system is affecting the conduct of hearings and the extent to which they are user-focused;

C. Compare various approaches to conducting hearings (e.g. face-to-face, hybrid, video, and telephone) and various hearing practices (e.g. inquisitorial, enabling, active), in relation to whether these meet users’ needs;

D. Examine the role of lay members and how their presence in tribunal hearings contributes to user-focus; and

E. Identify best practices in relation to the user-focused conduct of hearings, explore the extent to which such practices are transferable, and develop a “bottom-up” understanding of user-focus.

The expected outcomes include:

i. Providing a robust evidence base for evaluating the potential tension between judicialisation and user-focus and the balance that has been achieved between these policy goals.

ii. Influencing tribunal policy and practice by developing models of user-focused hearings based on user experiences, also identifying models of good practice and the potential for learning across chambers and jurisdictions.