Hearing and Determining of Appeals
(Arising out of the Operation of the Disciplinary Procedure):
Academic and Academic Related Staff
Purpose and Scope
- This procedure applies to appeals arising in any proceedings or out of any decision reached, under the Disciplinary and Dismissals Procedure other than appeals under paragraph 11 (Appeals against disciplinary warnings).
- No appeal shall lie against the findings of fact of a Tribunal under paragraph 42 of the Disciplinary and Dismissals Procedure save where, with the consent of the person or persons hearing the appeal, fresh evidence is called on behalf of the appellant at that hearing. It is recognised that a decision as to what constitutes fresh evidence can only be taken following the appointment of a person to hear the appeal by the Council under paragraphs 9 to 11 below.
- In this procedure references to "the person appointed", are references to the person appointed by the Council under paragraphs 9 to 11 below to hear and determine the relevant appeal.
- The parties to an appeal shall be the appellant, and the Registrar and Secretary and any other person added as a party at the direction of the person appointed.
Institution of Appeals
- A member of the Academic Staff shall institute an appeal by serving on the Registrar and Secretary, within the time allowed under paragraph 6, notice in writing setting out the grounds of the appeal.
Time for Appealing and Notices of Appeal
- A notice of appeal shall be served within 28 days of the date on which the document recording the decision appealed from was sent to the appellant or such longer period, if any, as the person appointed may determine under paragraph 8.
- The Registrar and Secretary shall bring any notice of appeal received (and the date when it was served), to the attention of the Council and shall inform the appellant that he/she has done so. In the absence of a meeting of the Council within 28 days of the receipt by the Registrar of any notice of appeal, the members of Council shall be informed of the matter by letter from the Registrar and Secretary and the appellant informed accordingly.
- Where the notice of appeal was served on the Registrar and Secretary outside the 28 day period the person appointed under paragraphs 9 to 11 shall not permit the appeal to proceed unless he/she considers that justice and fairness so require in the circumstances of the case.
Persons appointed to hear and determine Appeals
- Where an appeal is instituted under this procedure, the Council shall appoint a person from among those described in paragraph 10 to hear and determine that appeal. In the absence of a meeting of the Council within 28 days of the receipt by the Registrar and Secretary of the notice of appeal, the Chairperson of Council, acting on behalf of the Council, shall be empowered to appoint a person to hear and determine the appeal.
- The persons described in this paragraph are persons not employed by the University holding, or having held, judicial office or being barristers or solicitors of at least ten years standing.
- The person appointed shall sit alone unless he/she considers that justice and fairness will best be served by sitting with two other persons.
- The other persons who may sit with the person appointed shall be:
- a member of the Council not being a person employed by the University and;
- one member of the Academic Staff nominated by the Senate.
- The person appointed, or any other person who may sit with the person appointed, shall have no prior connection with the case and shall not have served as a member of the Tribunal first appointed to consider the matter.
- If any person hearing the appeal is unable to continue he/she will be replaced and the appeal reheard from the beginning.
Provisions concerning appeal procedures
- The appellant shall be given a minimum of fourteen days notice of the appeal hearing and be invited to attend. The appellant may be accompanied at the hearing by one or two persons of his/her choice, one of whom will act as his/her representative and may be legally qualified.
- If, for good cause, the member of the Academic Staff is unable to attend the appeal hearing on the date specified, it will be adjourned to a date of which the member of the Academic Staff and his/her representative (if any), will be informed in writing without delay. If, in the judgement of the person appointed, the member of the Academic Staff declines to attend the appeal hearing without good cause, he/she shall be empowered to dismiss the appeal for lack of prosecution or to consider and decide the matter on the available evidence in the absence of the member of the Academic Staff.
- The person appointed will have available to him/her the written Tribunal decision on the charge(s) referred to it together with its findings of fact, the reasons for its decision regarding the charge(s) and its recommendations, if any, as to the appropriate penalty.
- At the appeal the Vice-Chancellor and Principal will give an account of how and why he/she responded to the initial decision and recommendation of the Tribunal.
- The appellant or his/her representative will be entitled to ask any questions and to make a submission on the appellant's behalf.
- The appeal will not normally be by way of a rehearing unless the Vice-Chancellor and Principal or the appellant, or his/her representative, has additional material to introduce which was not available at the time of the Tribunal hearing (which may involve the calling of additional witnesses with the consent of the person or persons hearing the appeal).
- Notwithstanding the terms of paragraph 20, if, in the judgement of the person appointed, the interests of justice and fairness would be best served by a rehearing of the evidence presented at the original Tribunal, this would be possible and a procedure based on paragraphs 31 to 38 of the Disciplinary and Dismissals Procedure would be adopted at the appeal hearing for this purpose.
- The person appointed may adjourn the proceedings at any stage if this appears necessary or desirable. If adjourning for the purpose of enabling further information to be obtained, he/she will specify the nature of that information. Any adjournment will normally be for a stated period consistent with the appeal being determined within a normal time limit of 28 days from the first hearing.
- The person appointed may dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution and take appropriate action to correct any accidental errors that may occur.
- Having considered the evidence presented, the person or persons hearing the appeal may allow or dismiss an appeal in whole or in part and, without prejudice to the foregoing, may:
- remit an appeal from a decision under the Disciplinary and Dismissals Procedure for rehearing by a differently constituted Tribunal to be appointed under the terms of paragraphs 24 to 28 of the procedure, or
- substitute any lesser alternative penalty that would have been open to the appropriate officer following the finding by the Tribunal which heard and pronounced upon the original charge or charges.
- The person appointed shall determine his/her own reasonable fee, which will normally be paid by the University but may be awarded against the member of the Academic staff where the person appointed considers that the appeal should not have been brought.
Notification of decisions
- The person appointed shall send the reasoned decision, including any decision reached in exercise of his/her powers under paragraph 24 (i) or (ii), on any appeal together with any findings of fact different from those come to by the Tribunal appointed under the terms of the Disciplinary and Dismissals Procedure, to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal and to the parties to the appeal and to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University in the case of an appeal by a member of the Academic Staff who holds status or title in the University.
- The decision of the person appointed is binding on all parties to the appeal and cannot be the subject of further internal appeal within the University.
Version V190307
