Appointment of the tribunal
8.—(1) Unless the application belongs to a class or group of proceedings for which members have already been appointed, the members ofthe tribunal who are to hear the application shall be appointed by the chairman.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to serve as a member of a tribunal for the purpose of any proceedings where—
- (a) he is a member or officer of the responsible authority or of the registration authority concerned in the proceedings; or
- (b) he is a member or officer of a health authority[, Primary Care Trust][1] [or National Health Service trust][1] [or NHS foundation trust][1] which has the right to discharge the patient under section 23(3) of the Act; or
- (c) he has a personal connection with the patient or has recently treated the patient in a professional medical capacity.
(3) The persons qualified to serve as president of the tribunal for the consideration of an application or reference relating to a restricted patient shall be restricted to those legal members who have been approved for that purpose by the [Lord Chief Justice after consulting the Lord Chancellor].[1]
[(4) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions referred to in paragraph (3).][1]
Amendments