Catalogue description Road and Rail Appeal Tribunal: Road Haulage Appeals

By the Road and Rail Traffic Act 1933, all hauliers and owners of goods motor vehicles used on public highways were placed under a system of licensing to be administered by the Area Traffic Commissioners. The Act also provided for a right of appeal. The Road and Rail Appeal Tribunal came into being on 1 January 1934 and ceased to exist on 15 August 1951.

The Appeal Tribunal came into being on 1 January 1934 and ceased to exist on 15 August 1951. It consisted of three members. The Chairman (a person with legal experience) was appointed by the Minister of Transport after consultation with the Lord Chancellor. The other two members were appointed by the minister after consultation with the President of the Board of Trade and the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The Tribunal was given power to make rules governing its procedure, to award costs and to make orders as it thought fit on appeals. Its decisions were final and binding on the licensing authority. It was required to hear Scottish appeals in Scotland.

A right of appeal against the decision of a licensing authority was given to the following categories of person:

(a) Applicants for grant or variation of a licence; (b) holders aggrieved by the revocation or suspension of a licence; and (c) persons whose objections had not been taken into consideration by a licensing authority.

In 1951 jurisdiction of the Appeal Tribunal was transferred to the Transport Tribunal, which consisted of a President, who is an experienced lawyer, and four other permanent members.

The Transport Act 1962 requires the Tribunal to sit in two divisions, the Railway Rates Division and the Road Haulage Appeals Division

An appeal from the Transport Tribunal lies to the Court of Appeal in England and Wales or the Court of Session in Scotland, except on a question of fact or locus standi. The Lord Chancellor assumed responsibility for this Tribunal in 1988.