Making An Appeal To The Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal

The Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal ("IFSAT") is a statutory appeal tribunal which decides appeals from a broad range of decisions made by the Central Bank of Ireland ("CBI"). The statutory source of its powers and functions is Part VIIA of the Central Bank Act 1942 ("CBA 1942"). The types of appeal it deals with include refusals to grant certain types of authorisation or licence, the revocation of certain types of authorisation or licence, the imposition of administrative sanctions and the making of certain types of direction. Procedure and Process IFSAT comprises a Chairman (a former Supreme Court judge) and a Panel of Appeal Member (comprised of lawyers mainly from non-banking/financial services areas of practice). IFSAT also has a Registrar. None of its staff are full-time as it is an ad hoc tribunal. CBA 1942 requires IFSAT to deal with cases as expeditiously and cost-effectively as possible consistent with requirements of basic fairness. Its procedures are intended to be as informal as possible. It is not bound by the rules of evidence. Unlike a judge, the tribunal members can inform themselves separately of issues – although fair procedures would require them to tell the...