The applicant objected that one of the lay members of the Appeal Tribunal had, on other occasions, sat with a recorder who, as counsel, was appearing for a party in that appeal.
Held: There was no real possibility of bias from this scenario. The tribunal had to be independent and impartial, but mere generalised allegations of pre-disposition to favour one party were insufficient to create any legitimate doubt as to impartiality. The assertion was that there was a risk that a lay member might be subconsciously influenced by the previous professional relationship. For something as insidious and diverse as bias, it was not reasonable to demand an authority on all fours before finding a breach of article 6, but the lay members were carefully chosen. The requirements of article 6 differed only slightly from those long required by common law.
EAT Procedural Issues – Employment Appeal Tribunal
Judges:
The Honourable Mr Justice Lindsay (President)
Citations:
EAT/1170/98, EAT/1171/98, [1999] UKEAT 1170 – 98 – 0610
Links:
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 1953 (1953 Cmd 8969), Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 1993 7(9) 11
Citing:
Application for leave – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd EAT 15-Feb-1999
The appellant wished to pursue an appeal against the striking out of his claim, and objected that contrary to the Rules, a member of the board who had heard the pre-hearing review had also sat on the full hearing.
Held: The appeal should be . .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd EAT 15-Jan-2001
. .
Cited – Divine-Bortey v London Borough of Brent CA 14-May-1998
The claimant had brought and lost an action relating to his dismissal by the defendant, who now appealed against an order that he was not estopped from bring a second claim on a different basis namely race discrimination, disapplying the rule in . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – AA Lawal v Northern Spirit Limited CA 9-Aug-2002
The appellant had had his case considered by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. He complained that his opponent had been represented in court by an advocate who himself sat part time in the EAT, and that this would lead to undue weight and respect . .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd EAT 15-Jan-2001
. .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd EAT 15-Jan-2002
EAT Procedural Issues – Employment Appeal Tribunal. . .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd CA 15-Jan-2002
Application for leave to appeal . .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd EAT 15-Jan-2002
. .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd CA 30-Oct-2002
. .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Limited HL 19-Jun-2003
Counsel appearing at the tribunal had previously sat as a judge with a tribunal member. The opposing party asserted bias in the tribunal.
Held: The test in Gough should be restated in part so that the court must first ascertain all the . .
See Also – Lawal v Northern Spirit Ltd CA 19-Feb-2004
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Human Rights, Natural Justice
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.171704