From GPG

This is written in December 2008 when the Rules were still a 'work in progress' and likely to be revised following conclusions drawn from their practical application. You are advised to check whether changes have been made to the rules that affect the guidance below.

Contents 1 Hearings and Inquiries Rules 2007 1.1 What do the Rules Require? 1.2 The position of an Applicant at an Inquiry or Hearing 1.3 The Procedure at the Inquiry

Hearings and Inquiries Rules 2007

New rules appertaining to rights of way Hearings and Inquiries have been set out in SI 2007, No. 2008. As at November 2007, they do not apply in Wales.

Until now, there have been no rules governing public inquiries into contested footpath and bridleway orders. As a result there has not been an obligation to produce statements of cases or proofs of evidence in advance although good practice developed over the years to the extent that it has been generally accepted that Local Authorities would do so and, indeed, the Secretary of State has come to expect this to be the case. The same courtesy, however, has not always been reciprocated by objectors.

This has caused difficulties in so far as proofs have had to be read out in the Inquiry and there has not, consequently, been the opportunity to consider the information put forward properly, resulting in longer Inquiries or adjournments.

It has also been known for this lack of disclosure of evidence to result in the incurring of costs which might otherwise have been avoided. While this might be regarded as unreasonable, without Rules it could not result in an award of costs against the party causing the problem.

What do the Rules Require?

In summary:

• If it appears that an Inquiry will last for more than eight days, a pre-inquiry meeting will be held before the date for the Inquiry is fixed. The aim is to identify the issues and address matters of timetabling.
• The Secretary of State will nominate a start date which will apply unless there is a very good reason why one of the parties cannot adhere to it, ie. availability of witnesses or legal representatives but this must be brought forward before the start date is fixed.
• The Order Making Authority's Statement of Case must be submitted within 8 weeks of the start date and the statement of case of the other parties within 14 weeks of the start date. A statement of case is defined as a written statement containing full particulars of the case which a person proposes to put forward together with copies of supporting documents and a schedule of those documents.
• The point of sequential exchange is that other parties will be able to comment on the statement of case of the OMA which, in turn will be able to address any criticisms in its evidence.
• Proofs of evidence have to be submitted by all parties not later than four weeks before the start of the inquiry. If a proof is longer than 1500 words, a summary must be provided which should not be longer than 10% of the length of the proof. Only the summary will be read at the inquiry unless the Inspector orders otherwise. The Secretary of State sends copies of the proofs and summaries to all parties.
• Persons entitled to appear at the Inquiry are the parties on whom notification of the Inquiry has been served and anyone else who had served a Statement of Case in accordance with the rules. The Inspector also has discretion to allow anyone else to appear at the Inquiry.

The position of an Applicant at an Inquiry or Hearing

Once an Order is made, it becomes the OMA's responsibility to promote it but the applicant will usually wish to participate in the process although this is not always the case. The Rules do not oblige an applicant to participate but they do require him to verify his position, ie. he now has either to submit a Statement of Case or a Notice that he intends to rely on the OMA's Statement of Case.

The Procedure at the Inquiry

In general the Rules set out in writing, the procedure that has long been followed and expressly give an Inspector powers which, at best, were only implied.

At the start of the Inquiry, the Inspector is required to identify what he thinks are the main issues to be considered and any matters requiring further explanation from the parties appearing.

The Inspector is given an express power to stop irrelevant or repetitive evidence, cross-examination or submissions. The Inspector can also stop aggressive or offensive questioning or any other behaviour that he considers inappropriate although this power remains implicit. He is given an express power to exclude a person behaving in a disruptive manner.