Standard Arrangements For Committee Hearings

1. Rule A8.6 provides for each party to advise the Committee Secretary of the name, address and position of the officer or employee who is to represent it at the hearing. If any party so wishes, it may request, giving reasons, that the Chairman direct that it be represented by another person who is not an officer or employee. If its representative is not legally qualified, any party may request that the Chairman direct that its representative be accompanied by a named person who is legally qualified. Rule A5.9 also requires that each party advise the details of any representative of its insurers or any persons with technical or professional expertise (other than legal advisers) whom it wishes to attend the hearing.

2. Procedural Rule 3.6 requires any party wishing to call a witness to apply to the Chairman, through the Committee Secretary, giving details of the witness, what the party is seeking to establish through his evidence, and how long examination-in-chief is likely to last.

3. Any party wishing to rely on expert evidence must agree the arrangements with the Committee Secretary in advance. There is no requirement for the expert to attend the hearing for the sole purpose of proving his report but, if any other party applies to the Chairman to cross-examine the expert, the party who commissioned his report must arrange for his attendance as a witness.

4. The Committee will wish to rely primarily on the written material supplied in advance by the parties.

Procedural Rule 5.4 stipulates that each party may address the Committee for up to 20 minutes when making a submission based on its written submission. A party may request in advance, with reasons, that the Chairman agree to a longer period, or may seek the Chairman’s permission at the time.

5. Parties will be allowed a right of reply to the extent that points have been made orally by other parties which were not adequately exposed in their submission. The Chairman will not normally expect a party to speak for more than 20 minutes in reply.

6. Any party may, with prior notification, call one or more witnesses to give evidence on a matter raised in that party’s submission. Unless agreed otherwise, that party should undertake examination-in-chief of its witness(es) immediately after its opening submission; other parties will then have the opportunity of cross-examining the witness(es), with potential re-examination in respect of any new points arising in the cross-examination. It is not anticipated that a witness need remain on hand once he has given his evidence.

7. Members of the Committee may put questions to representatives of the parties or to witnesses at any time. Questions put during a submission or response, or during the evidence of a witness, will normally concern a matter of clarification or omission only, and allowance for them will be made in relation to any time limit.

8. Representatives of parties are not allowed to put questions during the submission or response of another party. Representatives may only address questions to a witness when invited to do so by the Chairman.

9. There are no firm rules on the admissibility of evidence; the Chairman may admit some evidence that would not be admissible in court, but the Committee may attach less importance to it.

10. Committee hearings generally take place in the Committee’s meeting room at Central House,14 Upper Woburn Place,
London WC1H 0HY. Private rooms with telephone are available for the use of the parties if required.

11. The standard hours for a Committee hearing are:

Hearing starts	10.00 (coffee available on arrival)
Buffet lunch	13.00 - 13.45
Tea	15.30 - 15.45
Hearing finishes	17.00

12. The proceedings will not normally be recorded verbatim unless one or more parties request otherwise and undertake to bear the cost.

April 2006