The Upper Tribunal for Scotland (UTfS) is a general appeal

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

and superior

court of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written recor ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was created by the

Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in October 2014 to improve access to the civil justice system and while making the Court of Session a place for the more complex cases. History The Bill was passed by ...

, which aimed to create a simplified structure for tribunals in Scotland. The

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

, as head of the judiciary in Scotland, is responsible for the Upper Tribunal for Scotland. Some of the Lord President's functions in relation to tribunals have been delegated to the

President of the Scottish Tribunals President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, currently Lady Wise. It is administered by the

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service , type = , seal = , logo = 250px , logo_caption = , formed = , jurisdiction = Scotland , headquarters = Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD , employees = 1,374 , budget = £129.3 million (2015-2016) , chief1_name = Lord ...

Jurisdiction

The Upper Tribunal for Scotland hears appeals from the

First-tier Tribunal for Scotland The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (FtTfS) is a first-instance general tribunal in Scotland. It was created by the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014, which aimed to create a simplified structure for tribunals in Scotland, amalgamating the functi ...

. Upper Tribunal appeals are binding nationwide on all First-tier Tribunal for Scotland cases. Unlike the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, the Upper Tribunal for Scotland is not divided into chambers. However, it does use different rules of procedure for social security appeals.

Relationship with the UK-wide Upper Tribunal

The UK-wide Upper Tribunal exercises many similar functions to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland, although the two are entirely separate.

People

Representation

The Tribunal does not require legal representation, though a party may instruct a

Solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, or layperson to represent them if they wish.

Judiciary and tribunal members

The Tribunal has three types of member: * Judicial - appointed judges from the

Scottish judiciary The judiciary of Scotland are the judicial office holders who sit in the courts of Scotland and make decisions in both civil and criminal cases. Judges make sure that cases and verdicts are within the parameters set by Scots law, and they ...

, normally

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

s * Legal - qualified Advocates or Solicitors * Ordinary - laypeople The composition of the Tribunal will depend on from which First-tier Chamber it is hearing an appeal from. For instance: * Housing and Property Chamber appeals can be heard by a single sheriff * Tax chamber appeals can be heard by a single legal member It may share members with the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

Appeals

Decisions of the Upper Tribunal can be appealed on points of law only, and go to the Inner House of the Court of Session. This gives the Upper Tribunal status approximately equivalent to the Sheriff Appeal Court or the Outer House.

References

{{CourtsScotland2 Courts and tribunals established in 2014 Tribunals of the Scottish Government Courts of Scotland