Medical Act 1983

[F1Procedure of and evidence before the Investigation Committee, Interim Orders Panels and Fitness to Practise PanelsU.K.

1(1)Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the General Council shall make rules for the Investigation Committee, Interim Orders Panels and Fitness to Practise Panels with respect to—U.K.

(a)the reference of cases to the Investigation Committee, an Interim Orders Panel or a Fitness to Practise Panel; and

(b)the procedure to be followed and rules of evidence to be observed in proceedings before that Committee or such a Panel.

(2)Rules made under this paragraph in connection with the consideration by the Investigation Committee of whether to warn a person regarding his future conduct or performance under section 35C(6) above shall include provision—

(a)securing that notice shall be given to this effect to the person concerned;

(b)securing that the person concerned shall be entitled to make representations in writing to the Committee;

(c)securing that if the Committee determines that there should be an oral hearing, the person concerned shall, if he so requires, be entitled to be heard by the Committee;

(d)enabling the person concerned to be represented before the Committee by counsel or a solicitor, or (if the rules so provide and he so elects) by a person of such other description as may be specified in the rules; and

(e)securing that notice be served on the person concerned of any decision taken in relation to him by the Committee.

(3)Rules made under this paragraph in connection with the consideration by an Interim Orders Panel or a Fitness to Practise Panel of the making of an interim suspension order or an order for interim conditional registration under section 41A above, or in connection with the review of such an interim order, shall include provision—

(a)securing that notice that the proceedings are to be brought shall be given, at such time and in such manner as may be specified in the rules, to the person to whom the proceedings relate;

(b)securing that a person in relation to whom an order has been made shall, if he so requires, be entitled to be heard by the Panel on each occasion on which they review the order;

(c)enabling the person in relation to whom the order has been made to be represented before the Panel by counsel or a solicitor, or (if the rules so provide and he so elects) by a person of such other description as may be specified in the rules;

(d)for service on the person to whom the proceedings relate of notice of any decision taken in relation to him by the Panel; and

(e)determining when proceedings before the Panel are to be held in public and when in private (including provision securing that they are to be held in public if the person to whom the proceedings relate so requests).

(4)Rules made under this paragraph in connection with any other proceedings before a Fitness to Practise Panel shall include provision—

(a)securing that notice that the proceedings are to be brought shall be given, at such time and in such manner as may be specified in the rules, to the person to whose registration the proceedings relate;

(b)securing that any party to the proceedings shall, if he so requires, be entitled to be heard by a Panel;

(c)enabling any party to the proceedings to be represented before the Panel by counsel or a solicitor, or (if the rules so provide and the party so elects) by a person of such other description as may be specified in the rules;

(d)in relation to conduct, conviction or determination proceedings, for proceedings before a Panel to be held in public unless and to the extent that the rules provide otherwise; and

(e)in relation to health or performance proceedings, requiring proceedings before a Panel to be held in public if the person concerned so requests unless and to the extent that the rules provide otherwise.

(5)Rules made under this paragraph shall specify the relevant date for the purposes of sections 35A and 35B of this Act.

(6)Before making rules under this paragraph the General Council shall consult such bodies of persons representing medical practitioners, or medical practitioners of any description, as appear to the General Council requisite to be consulted.

(7)Rules under this paragraph shall not come into force until approved by order of the Privy Council.

(8)The Privy Council may approve such rules—

(a)as submitted to them; or

(b)subject to such modifications as appear to them to be requisite.

(9)Where the Privy Council propose to approve rules under this paragraph subject to modifications, they shall—

(a)notify the General Council of the modifications they propose to make; and

(b)consider any observations which the General Council may make on the modifications.

(10)In this paragraph—

• “conduct proceedings” means proceedings involving an allegation of a kind mentioned in section 35C(2)(a) above;

• “performance proceedings” means proceedings involving an allegation of a kind mentioned in section 35C(2)(b) above;

• “conviction proceedings” means proceedings involving an allegation of a kind mentioned in section 35C(2)(c) above;

• “health proceedings” means proceedings involving an allegation of a kind mentioned in section 35C(2)(d) above; and

• “determination proceedings” means proceedings involving an allegation of a kind mentioned in section 35C(2)(e) above.

2(1)For the purpose of proceedings in England or Wales or in Northern Ireland before—U.K.

(a)the Investigation Committee;

(b)an Interim Orders Panel; or

(c)a Fitness to Practise Panel,

the Committee or Panel may administer oaths, and any party to the proceedings may issue a writ of subpoena ad testificandum or duces tecum, but no person shall be compelled under any such writ to produce any document which he could not be compelled to produce on the trial of an action.

(2)Section 36 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 or section 67 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 (which provide a special procedure for the issue of such writs so as to be in force throughout the United Kingdom) shall apply in relation to proceedings before the Investigation Committee, an Interim Orders Panel or a Fitness to Practise Panel in England and Wales or, as the case may be, in Northern Ireland as those provisions apply in relation to causes or matters in the High Court or actions or suits pending in the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland.

(3)For the purpose of proceedings before the Investigation Committee, an Interim Orders Panel or a Fitness to Practise Panel in Scotland, the Committee or Panel may administer oaths and the Court of Session shall on the application of any party to the proceedings have the like power as in any action in that court—

(a)to grant warrant for the citation of witnesses and havers to give evidence or to produce documents before the Committee or Panel and for the issue of letters of second diligence against any witness or haver failing to appear after due citation;

(b)to grant warrant for the recovery of documents; and

(c)to grant commissions to persons to take the evidence of witnesses or to examine havers and receive their exhibits and productions.

3U.K.Where—

(a)several sittings of the Investigation Committee, an Interim Orders Panel or a Fitness to Practise Panel or the General Council are required to enable the Committee, a Panel or the Council to dispose of a case; or

(b)on an appeal to the relevant court under section 40 of this Act, the case is remitted to the Registrar for him to refer the case to a Fitness to Practise Panel or to the General Council for the Panel or the Council to dispose of the case in accordance with directions given by the court,

the validity of the proceedings on the case before the Committee, Panel or Council, as the case may be, shall not be called into question by reason only that members of the Committee, Panel or Council who were present at a former meeting were not present at a later meeting of the Committee, Panel or Council or that members present at a later meeting were not present at a former meeting of the Committee, Panel or Council, as the case may be.]