Error saw no time limit put on conduct appeals
A TIME limit which would have helped bring a swift conclusion to the attempt to expel Deputy Chris Le Tissier from the States was omitted by mistake, it has been confirmed.
Now it is likely to be introduced.
A sub-committee drawing up changes to the States members’ code of conduct last term backed a 10 working day limit for appeals against recommendations made by the independent panel.
Despite that being in the body of the report to the States’ Assembly and Constitution Committee (Sacc), which was put before the Assembly, it did not get written into the recommendations voted on.
Deputy Le Tissier is still taking legal advice on his appeal against the panel saying he should be expelled from the States after hiding behind an anonymous Twitter account to make offensive and derogatory comments.
It is feared this could drag on for months and the panel’s findings were released at the end of March.
Last term Sacc set up a sub-group to investigate the code of conduct and it recommended introducing an appeals mechanism for the first time.
Former deputy and Sacc president Chris Green was on it and backs having a time limit for appeals.
‘There has to be certainty with these things,’ he said.
‘But it appears that Sacc must have made some changes to the finalised policy letter when it was lodged for debate. I can’t say I had picked up on this particular change during the debate on this. I don’t believe anybody from Sacc highlighted any change, but it should have been raised. Having an appeal process with no time limit for appeals is really not very business-like or effective.’
A Sacc spokesman confirmed that the sub-committee suggested a time-limit of 10 working days for the submission of an appeal after a member was provided with the conduct panel’s report.
‘However, the recommendation from the sub-committee proposing changes to the code did not include this timeframe. The recommended changes to the code by the committee mirrored the recommendations drafted by the sub-committee.
‘The committee will shortly be reconsidering the code in light of recent experience and will consider submitting a short policy letter recommending the inclusion of a time limit for appeals.’
. Code of conduct appeals can be made by the member concerned on two grounds – that the panel’s conclusions were based on significant factual inaccuracies which, had they been known, might have led to the panel finding differently; and/or that there had been procedural irregularities that prejudiced the member’s right to a fair hearing.
