A Court of Appeal in the UK has ruled that professional discipline tribunals do not need to adjourn between making a decision and imposing a sanction. The case involved a healthcare practitioner being removed from the register for serious misconduct and impaired fitness to practice. The registrant had been unable to attend the disciplinary proceedings and appealed the decision, claiming that the tribunal should have adjourned after the sanction stage to allow him to submit further evidence directed to remediation, insight or remorse. The Court of Appeal ruled that there is no obligation for a tribunal to adjourn before considering sanction and that, if all reasonable eforts have been taken to notify the practitioner of the hearing, it is to the tribunal's discretion whether to proceed.
August 21, 2019
