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We may ask you to take part in different types of case events. The type of case event we will ask you to attend will depend on:
- the decision you have asked us to review and
- the stage of your review application.
We will write to you to tell you which type of hearing or case event has been scheduled, and what it will be about.
Hearings
If the review is not resolved at an earlier stage, we will usually hold a hearing.
The hearing is an opportunity for you to present information and talk about why you agree or disagree with the decision under review.
For most types of cases, the hearing is an opportunity for you, a representative of the decision-maker and any other party, to present information and arguments about the decision under review.
In immigration and protection visa cases, there will not be a representative of the decision-maker at your hearing.
The hearing follows a legal process but it is informal. It will usually be conducted by one Tribunal member. The member is the person who will make a decision about the review.
We will hold a hearing if the review has not been resolved at an earlier stage in the review process, such as at a conference.
We will write to you to tell you what to do to arrange an interpreter. You can't have a relative or friend interpret for you.
If you tell us before the hearing, we can arrange and pay for a qualified interpreter to attend the hearing.
We might:
- dismiss the application if you are the applicant, meaning it will be brought to an end, or
- remove you as a party to the review if you are not the applicant, or
- make a decision without you.
If the application is dismissed because you did not attend the hearing you can ask us to reinstate the application. Such a request must be made within 28 days after you were notified that the application was dismissed.
If the application is not reinstated, the decision remains unchanged and we cannot review the decision.
Other case events
Apart from a hearing, we may write to you to ask you to attend another type of case event. Some of our different types of case events are:
- case management events, such as directions hearings
- dispute resolution events, such as conciliations.
Dispute resolution is about helping parties in a review agree on how a case should be resolved. Dispute resolution processes are mostly managed by registrars, rather than Tribunal members.
Read any information we send you
When we send you a letter or email, we will tell you what you need to know about the hearing or case event that is being scheduled. You can ask us if you have a question.