How to Appeal to Upper Tribunal

If you have made an appeal and the Disability Tribunal does not uphold it in full, it is possible for you to appeal further to the Upper Tribunal. Appeals to the Upper Tribunal can only be made on very fine grounds, so they will not consider an appeal purely based on a disagreement with a decision made by SENDIST as they are a specialist Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal respects the specialist decision of SENDIST, and will not normally overturn a decision unless the decision making process was very clearly flawed.

The grounds on which you can appeal to the Upper Tribunal are typically:

• An error in law
• Perverse findings of fact that no other person could have made
• Inadequate reasoning

Appeals to the Upper Tribunal generally only succeed when they have been made on the basis of an error in the law. It will only be in extreme cases that the Upper Tribunal will find that SENDIST has provided insufficient reasoning.

You must obtain permission before you can make an appeal to the Upper Tribunal, meaning you will first have to apply to SENDIST for permission to appeal. You can then apply directly to the Upper Tribunal if SENDIST refuse your appeal.

The process of appealing against a SENDIST decision is incredibly complex and requires an in depth knowledge of the law. It is highly recommended that you seek specialist legal advice before attempting to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.