Transfer of Tribunal Functions (Lands Tribunal and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2009

The order abolishes the Lands Tribunal and transfers its entire jurisdiction into the Upper Tribunal of the new tribunals system created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act, which received Royal Assent in July 2007. It forms part of our commitment to provide a truly modern, unified and independent tribunals system. The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act is the culmination of many years of hard work to reform this country’s tribunals system, set in motion by Sir Andrew Leggatt in his review, Tribunals For Users: One System, One Service. It provided for the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, creating a unified appeal structure. On 3 November 2008, three first-tier chambers commenced work—the Social Entitlement Chamber, the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber. The Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal was also established. This order provides for the Lands Tribunal jurisdiction to be transferred into the Upper Tribunal. We set out in our consultation a three-chamber structure for the Upper Tribunal, proposing to recreate the Lands Tribunal substantially unchanged as the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal. Our intention was to preserve and enhance the special qualities of the Lands Tribunal within the new structure, with priority given to continuity. Responses to the consultation showed strong support for this approach. Alongside this transfer of the Lands Tribunal jurisdiction into the new system, a new Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal will be established from 1 June 2009. That will be achieved by a separate order, subject to the negative procedure, to amend the existing chambers order to establish and assign functions to the Lands Chamber. This reflects our intention that that chamber should deal exclusively with the existing jurisdiction of the Lands Tribunal. Each chamber under the Act is required to have a chamber president, whose role is the maintenance and improvement of the chamber’s expertise. The Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber will have a chamber president selected by the Judicial Appointments Commission. The order also provides for the transfer of existing Lands Tribunal judges and members into the new system as judges and members of the Upper Tribunal. It is essential for ensuring a good service that specialist expertise is protected and improved and that continuity is maintained.