Forms & Guidance

This section includes the Notice of Appeal form that you must use when you appeal, as well as information about the appeal process.

Things to consider before you appeal

Further guidance

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When to Appeal

We must receive your completed Notice of Appeal within 90 days of the date of your review decision letter. If you cannot meet this deadline please refer to the section titled 'Extending the 90 day Time Limit' below.

How to appeal

Fill in the appeal form you received with the review decision letter. Or, to type out the document, click on the form below and download it to your computer.

You must give:

Send your appeal form and supporting documents to:

Tribunals Service
First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation)
Wellington House
134-136 Wellington Street
Glasgow
G2 2XL

Fax: 0141 354 8556

Please note that if you send the form to us by fax you must immediately send the original and any supporting documents to the above address by post

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Extending the 90 day time limit

In exceptional circumstances there may be good reasons why you cannot send your Notice of Appeal within the 90 day time limit. We may consider an extension to the 90 day limit if:

Example: If you are waiting for further medical reports that you must see before deciding whether or not to make an appeal then we may consider granting an extension whilst you wait for the documents to come to you.

If the 90 days has not yet passed, you can write to us to request an extension at:

Tribunals Service
First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation)
Wellington House
134-136 Wellington Street
Glasgow
G2 2XL

Fax: 0141 354 8556

Please tell us clearly why you need more time and how much longer you think you will need.

We aim to consider your request within 5 days of receiving it. In some circumstances, your request will be referred to a Tribunal Judge or Member to consider; if this applies to your application we will write to let you know. We aim to notify you of any such decision and the reason for it within 3 weeks of receiving your request.

If we grant an extension we will write to you advising of the new date by which we must receive your appeal. Further extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

If the 90 day period has already passed you should explain on your appeal form why you could not send your form to us earlier, and why it would be in the interests of justice to accept the appeal 'out of time'. You will also need to send to us any documents you have in support of your reasons.

What happens once we receive your appeal form

If we have received your appeal after the 90 day time limit, we will consider your application for an extension of time. We aim to consider your request within 5 days of receiving it. In some circumstances, your request will be referred to a Tribunal Judge of Member for a decision. We aim to notify you of any such decision and the reason for it within 3 weeks of receiving your request.

We will only admit your appeal if an extension is granted.

Once we admit your appeal we will send a copy of your Notice of Appeal, and any supporting documents you sent with it, to the Authority.

The Authority will then send a response bundle to you and to us. They aim to do this within 6 weeks of receiving your Notice of Appeal, although some cases may take longer. The Authority's response will include:

The Summary gives:

The response, together with any more information you or the Authority send to us, are the documents which the Tribunal will consider when making its decision.

You have 1 month from the date the Authority send their response to provide any further arguments or documents. You must send these to us.

The Tribunal may decide not to take into account documents that have not been supplied promptly. In some circumstances, there may be good reasons why you cannot supply further documents within 1 month. If you need more time you can write to us to request an extension. Tell us why you need more time and how much longer you need. Your application will be considered by a Tribunal Judge or Member.

When we receive the Authority's response bundle we will write to tell you whether your appeal will go to hearing or whether it will be considered by a Tribunal Judge or Member. If there is an issue about your eligibility for an award, a hearing will usually be necessary.

We will send you a copy of our guidance booklet which explains the next steps in the process.

You can see this, and our on-line video, which shows what to expect at a hearing, on the publications section of this website.

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The next step depends on the type of review decision you are appealing.

If you are appealing because the Authority refused to:

A Tribunal Judge or member will decide your appeal. We will write to you asking for any further comments you might like to make before we send your case to the Tribunal Judge or Member. You have 1 month from receiving the Authority's response to send in any further information. In suitable cases, provided theTribunal considers that it is in possession of all the information, your appeal will be decided by a Tribunal Judge without a hearing.

We will send your case to the Tribunal Judge or Member to make a decision on the basis of the documents you and the Authority have sent to us. If necessary, the Tribunal Judge or Member may ask you or the Authority to provide further documents.

We will write to inform you of the decision (which will be a final decision) and the reason for it. We aim to do this within 2 months of the time allowed for you to provide further information.

If we grant your appeal your application will be sent back to the Authority to decide whether you should receive compensation and, if so, how much.

If you are appealing because the Authority:

We will decide whether your appeal should have an oral hearing. If the Tribunal considers it is in possession of all the information it requires, your appeal will be dealt with by a Tribunal Judge without a hearing.

In straightforward cases we aim to tell you whether an oral hearing has been granted within 5 days of receiving your appeal.

If you have appealed outside the 90 day time limit and in some other cases, your appeal will be referred to an adjudicator to decide whether your appeal should have an oral hearing. We will write to tell you if this applies to your appeal and give you 21 days to send us any further documents you want the Panel to consider.

We will ask the Authority for copies of the documents they used to make their review decision. The Tribunal will make a decision based on these documents and any other documents you have sent us. If necessary we may ask you or the Authority to provide further documents.

If the Tribunal decides not to accept your appeal out of time or that an oral hearing is not necessary, a decision will be made on your appeal, and we will write to inform you of this. We aim to do this within 12 weeks of receiving your appeal. Please note that the decision of the Tribunal is final.

For more help you can also refer to:

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Eligibility for a criminal injuries compensation award

The Tribunal must be satisfied that:

The Tribunal may withold or reduce an award if:

Delay

Non-co-operation

Conduct

Character

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The Hearing Process

For information about what happens if we decide that your case should have an oral hearing click on our guidance booklet below
Publications.

We will send you or your representative a copy of the guidance booklet and DVD when you lodge your notice of appeal

For more help You can also refer to:

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