Advocacy Services (High Court Extensions - England & Wales)

Section 41A of the Medical Act 1983 (as amended) ('the Act') provides the power for an Interim Orders Tribunal ('IOT') or a Medical Practitioners Tribunal ('MPT') of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service ('MPTS') to impose an interim order of suspension or conditions on a practitioner's registration where such an order is necessary for the protection of members of the public or is otherwise in the public interest, or is in the interests of the practitioner. An interim order may be imposed for an initial period of up to 18 months. At the end of the initial period, S41A(6) and (7) of the Act provides that the interim order may be extended by the relevant court, on application by the GMC ('HCE application'). These applications are made under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules ('CPR'). Any extension of an interim order is for a maximum of 12 months, although there is no limit on the number of extensions that may be sought. S40(5) of the Act stipulates that the relevant court depends on the location of a registrant's registered address. For registrants with a registered address anywhere other than Scotland or Northern Ireland, the relevant court is the High Court of Justice in England and Wales ('the High Court'). Specifically, the GMC makes HCE applications in the Administrative Court in Manchester. In England and Wales, HCE applications are prepared by the GMC's in-house legal team and, those that progress to hearing, are presented by Counsel.