Police Appeals Tribunal transfer to Scottish Tribunals structure regulations: island communities impact assessment

Introduction

Summary of the aims, objectives and outcomes

The Scottish Tribunals structure was established by the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”). That Act created a created a new, two-tier structure for devolved tribunals in Scotland; the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland, known collectively as the Scottish Tribunals.

The suite of regulations seeks to transfer the existing Police Appeals Tribunal (“PAT”) into the Scottish Tribunals structure.

The suite of regulations to facilitate the transfer are:

The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Transfer of Functions and Members of the Police Appeals Tribunal) Regulations 2025;

The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland General Regulatory Chamber (Police Appeals) (Procedure) Regulations 2025; and

The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland General Regulatory Chamber Police Appeals and Upper Tribunal for Scotland (Composition) Regulations 2025.

The existing PAT hears appeals against decisions made by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland (or, in the case of senior officers, the Scottish Police Authority) to dismiss or demote a constable in rank due to either performance or misconduct issues. The PAT can either uphold the decision to dismiss or demote a constable or have the constable reinstated to their previous role or rank.

The policy aim is to transfer the functions and members of the existing PAT into the Scottish Tribunals structure and to provide for an updated set of procedural rules to be used by the First-tier Tribunal in police appeal cases following the transfer. The regulations also include composition regulations – which make provision for the make-up of the First-tier and Upper Tribunals when hearing police appeal cases.

The 2014 Act aims to create a Scottish Tribunals structure that reduces overlap, eliminates duplication, ensures better deployment of resource, and allows for the wider sharing of available resources. A unified structure promotes consistent training and conformity of practice across Scotland, eliminating different practices in different locations. The transfer of the PAT will help achieve these goals.