Made | 16th May 2006 | ||
To be laid before Parliament | |||
Coming into operation | 10th June 2006 |
(2) In these rules and in relation to the use of electronic communications for any purpose of these rules which is capable of being effected electronically —
(3) Paragraphs (4) to (7) apply where an electronic communication is used by a person for the purpose of fulfilling any requirement in these rules to give or send any statement, notice or other document to any other person ("the recipient").
(4) The requirement shall be taken to be fulfilled where the notice or other document transmitted by means of the electronic communication is—
(5) In paragraph (4), "legible in all material respects" means that the information contained in the notice or other document is available to the recipient to no lesser extent than it would be if sent or given by means of a document in printed form.
(6) Where the electronic communication is received by the recipient outside the recipient's business hours, it shall be taken to have been received on the next working day; and for this purpose "working day" means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday.
(7) A requirement in these rules that any document should be in writing is fulfilled where that document meets the criteria in paragraph (4).
Functions of an appointed representative
3.
—(1) The first function of an appointed representative is to represent the interests of the affected person by—
(2) The second function of an appointed representative is to represent the interests of the affected person by—
(3) The third function of an appointed representative is to ensure that the copies of the closed evidence or potentially closed evidence are returned to the person who supplied it as soon as practicable after—
whichever is the later.
(4) For the purposes of any of his functions the appointed representative may discuss any matter relating to the closed evidence or potentially closed evidence with—
Acknowledgement of request for a direction
4.
As soon as practicable after receiving a request for a direction the Secretary of State shall acknowledge receipt of it in writing.
Publicity
5.
—(1) As soon as practicable after receiving a request for a direction it shall be publicised by the Secretary of State by giving notice by local advertisement and, if appropriate, by serving notice upon any owner or occupier adjoining the land to which the request for a direction relates.
(2) A notice given under paragraph (1) shall—
Information to be sent to the parties
6.
—(1) As soon as practicable after notice of the request for a direction has been given in accordance with rule 5, the Secretary of State shall—
(2) As soon as practicable after being notified by the appointed representative that he has taken instructions from the affected person, the Secretary of State shall send to the appointed representative—
Written representations procedure
7.
—(1) For the purposes of these rules, the request for a direction comprises the written representations of the person making the request for a direction.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, send—
(3) If either party makes any further representations, the Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable after receipt, send a copy of the further representations to the other party.
(4) The Secretary of State may proceed to a decision on a request for a direction taking into account only such representations as have been submitted by the relevant date.
(5) In paragraph (4) "relevant date" means the date specified in a notice issued under rule 5(2) or 6(1) as the case may be, or such later date as may be fixed by the Secretary of State under rule 10.
Decision to hold a hearing and date of hearing
8.
—(1) Where the Secretary of State considers that one or more matters relating to the request would be more satisfactorily resolved by holding a hearing attended by the parties, he shall give the parties written notice accordingly.
(2) The date fixed by the Secretary of State for the holding of a hearing shall be not later than 6 weeks after the date of the notice referred to in paragraph (1).
(3) Unless the Secretary of State agrees a lesser period of notice with the parties, he shall give to them not less than 2 weeks written notice of the date, time and place fixed by him for the holding of the hearing.
(4) The Secretary of State may vary the date fixed for the holding of the hearing, whether or not the date as varied is within the period of 6 weeks mentioned in paragraph (2); and paragraph (3) applies to a variation of a date as it applied to the date originally fixed.
(5) The Secretary of State may vary the time or place for the holding of a hearing and shall give the parties such notice of any variation as appears to him to be reasonable.
Hearing Procedure
9.
—(1) Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the Secretary of State shall determine the procedure at a hearing.
(2) A hearing shall take the form of a discussion led by the Secretary of State and cross-examination shall be permitted if the Secretary of State considers it necessary to ensure a thorough examination of the main issues.
(3) At the start of the hearing the Secretary of State shall identify what are, in his opinion, the main issues to be considered at the hearing and any matters on which he requires further explanation from the parties.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) precludes the parties from referring to issues which they consider relevant to the consideration of the request for a direction but which were not issues identified by the Secretary of State pursuant to that paragraph.
(5) The Secretary of State may—
(6) When making his determination the Secretary of State may disregard any written representations, evidence or other document received after the end of the hearing.
Further time
10.
The Secretary of State may at any time in any particular case allow further time for the taking of any step which is required or enabled to be taken by virtue of these rules, and references in these rules to a day by which, or a period within which, any step is required or enabled to be taken shall be construed accordingly.
Notices by post
11.
Notices or documents required or authorised to be sent under these rules may be sent or supplied—
Use of electronic communication
12.
—(1) Where a person uses electronic communications to transmit any statement, notice or other document for any purpose of these Rules which is capable of being carried out electronically he shall be taken to have agreed to the use of such communications and that his address for that purpose is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with the notice or document.
(2) Where a person is no longer willing to accept the use of electronic communications for any purpose under these rules which is capable of being effected electronically, the person shall give notice in writing—
and such withdrawal or revocation shall be final and shall take effect on a date specified by the person in the notice but not less than 7 days after the date on which the notice is given.
Notification of decision
13.
—(1) As soon as practicable after determining whether or not to make a direction the Secretary of State shall notify his decision to any person who made representations to him in relation to the direction; but nothing in this paragraph requires or permits the Secretary of State to give reasons for his decision, where the giving of reasons would result in the public disclosure of closed evidence.
(2) Where a direction is given the Secretary of State shall, at the same time as notifying his decision in accordance with paragraph (1), send a copy of the direction to the appointed representative and the person who requested the direction.
Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor
Bridget Prentice
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Constitutional Affairs
Dated 16th May 2006