Guidance

General Regulatory Chamber tribunal hearings and decisions

How your case is handled after you appeal against a regulator: what happens at the hearing and how the tribunal reaches a decision.

After you appeal to the tribunal

The regulator has 28 days to respond to your appeal.

They will send you a copy of their response.

If you wish, you can write back to the tribunal with more evidence or arguments within the next 14 days. If you do reply, make sure you also send a copy to the regulator.

How your case will be handled

The tribunal will ask how you would like your appeal to be decided:

  • using the documents in the case
  • at a hearing - where you can (if you wish) put your case in person

The tribunal may ask you to send more documents or information before the hearing.

The tribunal hearing

The tribunal will try to hold the hearing in your local area, but this won’t always be possible.

The hearing may be attended by:

  • a judge - sometimes with 2 other tribunal members - who will decide your case
  • a representative from the regulator or the government department
  • you and your representative - if you have one

You will be referred to as the ‘appellant’ in the case, and the regulator as the ‘respondent’.

The judge will make sure you have a fair chance to give your side of the case.

The tribunal doesn’t normally tape-record the hearing.

General Regulatory Chamber cases listed for hearing

What to expect coming to a court or tribunal hearing

The tribunal’s decision

The tribunal will give you its decision as soon as it can after the hearing - and may be able to tell you on the day.

You will usually get a copy of the full written decision within 4 weeks of the hearing.

Disagree with the decision

If you disagree with the tribunal’s decision, you can appeal to an upper tribunal.

You can only appeal on a point of law - eg if the tribunal:

  • didn’t apply the law correctly
  • made a mistake in the way it reached its decision
  • didn’t give good reasons for its decision

You must first ask the General Regulatory Chamber for permission to appeal.

To do this, fill in the application for permission to appeal form.

Email or post the form to:

General Regulatory Chamber
PO Box 9300
Leicester
LE1 8DJ

Email: grc@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 4504

Previous decisions

Read decisions by judges in previous cases:

Updates to this page

Published 17 November 2014
Last updated 10 August 2020 + show all updates
  1. Link to hearing lists added.

  2. Add link to coming to court guidance

  3. Revised details on where to send the appeal form.

  4. First published.

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