Contents
Article 1Citation and commencement#
This Order may be cited as the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels, Tribunals and Investigation Committee) Rules Order of Council 2015 and comes into force on 31st December 2015.
Article 2Privy Council approval#
Their Lordships, having taken the Rules in the Schedule into consideration, are pleased to and do approve them.
Article 3Revocation of Orders of Council#
The following instruments are revoked—
(a)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) Rules Order of Council 2004;
(b)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2005;
(c)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2009;
(d)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2010.
Schedule · The General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels, Tribunals and Investigation Committee) Rules 2015
(1)These Rules may be cited as the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels, Tribunals and Investigation Committee) Rules 2015 and come into force on 31st December 2015.
(2)In these Rules—• “the Act” means the Medical Act 1983;• “appropriate person” means a person of good character who is fit to sit as a panellist or tribunal member;• “the Committee” means the Investigation Committee;• “lay” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1A(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Act;• “medical”, in relation to any person, means a person who is fully registered or provisionally registered under the Act and holds a licence to practise under the Act;• “Panel” means a Registration Appeals Panel or a Registration Panel;• “panellist” means a person sitting on a Panel or the Investigation Committee;• “Tribunal” means an Interim Orders Tribunal or a Medical Practitioners Tribunal.
(3)
(1)The General Council must, in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4), appoint to and maintain—
(b)a list of medical and lay appropriate persons eligible to act as panellists on the Committee or a Registration Panel.
(2)The General Council must remove from the lists maintained under paragraph (1) any person—
(a)whose term of appointment has come to an end, unless that person’s appointment to the relevant list has been renewed;
(b)who resigns from the relevant list by giving notice in writing to that effect to the General Council; or
(c)who in the opinion of the General Council has ceased to be an appropriate person.
(3)A member of the General Council may act as a panellist on the Committee or a Registration Panel but cannot act as a panellist on a Registration Appeals Panel and, accordingly, cannot be appointed to the list at paragraph (1)(a).
(4)A person cannot, at the same time, be included in both the lists maintained under paragraph (1).
(4)
(1)The MPTS must, in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4),—
(a)Appoint to and maintain—
(i)a list of persons eligible to serve as a registrant member of a Tribunal, and
(b)set and publish criteria which a person must satisfy (whether in relation to qualifications, experience, competencies or other matters) in order to be eligible for appointment to a list at sub-paragraph (a)(i) or (ii);
(c)determine the terms on which a person holds a position on a list at sub-paragraph (a)(i) or (ii);
(d)determine the grounds on which it may suspend or remove a person from holding a position on a list at sub-paragraph (a)(i) or (ii).
(2)A person appointed to a list at paragraph (1)(a)(i) or (ii) holds and ceases to hold a position on the list in accordance with the terms of their appointment.
(3)A member of the General Council, the Committee, a Panel, or an officer of the General Council, cannot act as a Tribunal member and, accordingly, cannot be appointed to a list maintained under paragraph (1)(a)(i) or (ii).
(4)A person cannot, at the same time, be included in both lists maintained under paragraph (1)(a).
(5)
(1)Membership of a Registration Appeals Panel must—
(a)comprise medical and lay panellists selected by the Registrar in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5) from the list maintained under rule 3(1)(a); and
(b)include at least one person whose name is included in the list maintained under rule 6(1)(a).
(6)
(1)The General Council must appoint to and maintain—
(a)from the list maintained under rule 3(1)(a), a list of panellists eligible to act as Chair of a Registration Appeals Panel;
(b)from the list maintained under rule 3(1)(b), a list of panellists eligible to act as Chair of the Committee or a Registration Panel.
(2)The General Council must remove from the list maintained under —
(a)paragraph (1)(a), the name of any person removed from the list referred to in rule 3(1)(a);
(b)paragraph (1)(b), the name of any person removed from the list referred to in rule 3(1)(b).
(3)The Registrar must select a person to act as Chair in respect of proceedings before—
(a)a Registration Appeals Panel, from the list maintained under paragraph (1)(a);
(b)the Committee or Registration Panel, from the list maintained under paragraph (1)(b).
(4)The MPTS must appoint to and maintain from the lists referred to in rule 4(1)(a), a list of persons eligible to serve as Chair of a Tribunal.
(5)The MPTS must remove from the list maintained under paragraph (4) the name of any person removed from the lists maintained under rule 4(1)(a).
(6)The MPTS must select a person to act as Chair in respect of proceedings before a Tribunal from the list maintained under paragraph (4).
(7)The MPTS must set and publish criteria which a person must satisfy (whether in relation to qualifications, experience, competencies or other matters) in order to be eligible for selection to serve as Chair of the Tribunal.
(8)If the Chair selected under paragraph (3) is unavailable for the whole or part of any proceedings or becomes ineligible to act as Chair during the course of any proceedings, then the Registrar may appoint another panellist, present at the commencement of the proceedings, to act as Chair for the whole or part of the hearing.
(9)If the Chair selected under paragraph (6) is unavailable for the whole or part of any proceedings or becomes ineligible to act as Chair during the course of any proceedings, then the MPTS may appoint another tribunal member, present at the commencement of the proceedings, to act as Chair for the whole or part of the hearing.
(7)Including the Chair, the quorum of a Panel, a Tribunal or the Committee is to be three panellists of whom—
(8)
(1)The validity of any proceedings of a Panel, a Tribunal or the Committee is not be affected by any defect in the appointment of a panellist or a Tribunal member.
(3)Where paragraph (2) applies, the hearing may proceed notwithstanding that—
(a)any panellists or Tribunal members present at the original hearing are not present at the subsequent hearing; or
(b)any panellists or Tribunal members present at the subsequent hearing were not present at the original hearing.
(9)The following are revoked—
(a)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) Rules 2004;
(b)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules 2005;
(c)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules 2009;
(d)the General Medical Council (Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules 2010;
(e)rule 3 of the General Medical Council (Fitness to Practise and Constitution of Panels and Investigation Committee) (Amendment) Rules 2013.
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