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COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - LONG TITLE

An Act to make provision for the appointment and functions of a
Commissioner to investigate complaints alleged to arise from
administrative acts for which certain local or public bodies are
responsible and for purposes connected therewith.
[25th November 1969]
Appointment and tenure of office of Commissioner.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 1

1.(1) For the purposes of this Act there shall be appointed a
Commissioner, to be known as the Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Complaints.

(2) [A person appointed to be the Commissioner] shall, subject to
subsection (3), hold office during good behaviour.

(3) A person appointed to be the Commissioner

(a)may, at his own request, be relieved of office by [Her Majesty];

(b)may be removed from office by [Her Majesty] in consequence of
Addresses from both Houses of Parliament; and

(c)shall in any case vacate office on completing the year of
service in which he attains the age of sixty-five years.

Subs.(4) rep. by 1975 c.25 s.5(2) sch.3 Pt.II

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 2
Remuneration.

2.(1) Subject to subsection (2), there shall be paid to the holder
of the office of Commissioner a salary [of #9,375 a year or such
larger sum as may be determined by Order in Council under the
Salaries (Comptroller and Auditor-General and Others) (Northern
Ireland) Order 1973].

(2) The salary payable to a holder of the office of Commissioner
shall be abated by the amount of any pension payable to him in
respect of any public office in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to
which he had previously been appointed or elected; but any such
abatement shall be disregarded in computing that salary for the
purposes of any pension or other benefit payable pursuant to an
Order in Council made under section 13(1)(a).

(3) Any salary payable under this section and any such
last-mentioned pension or other benefit shall be charged on and
issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 3
Administrative provisions.

3.(1) The Commissioner may appoint such officers as he may determine
with the approval of the Ministry of Finance as to numbers and
conditions of service.

(2) The Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration
may authorise any of his officers to assist the Commissioner in the
exercise of the Commissioner's functions under this Act.

(3) Any function of the Commissioner under this Act may be
performed by any officer of the Commissioner or of the Northern
Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration authorised for
the purpose by the Commissioner.

(4) The expenses of the Commissioner under this Act, to such amount
as may be approved by the Ministry of Finance, may be defrayed out
of moneys provided by Parliament.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 4
Local and public bodies subject to investigation by the Commissioner.

4. Subject to the provisions of any Order in Council for the time
being in force under section 13(1)(b), this Act applies to the
local and public bodies listed in Schedule 1.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 5
Matters subject to investigation.

5.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commissioner may
investigate any action taken by or on behalf of a local or public
body to which this Act applies, being action taken in the exercise
of the administrative functions of that body, where

(a)a complaint is made to the Commissioner in accordance with this
Act by a person who claims to have sustained injustice in
consequence of maladministration in connection with the action so
taken with a request to conduct an investigation thereon; and

(b)in such cases as may be prescribed, not being cases in which by
virtue of subsection (2) payment of a fee is not required, the
complaint is accompanied by a fee of such amount, not exceeding #5,
as may be prescribed.

For the removal of doubt it is hereby declared that action taken
in the exercise of the administrative functions of a body includes
action taken by or on behalf of that body in relation to any
appointment or employment in respect of which power to take action,
or to determine or approve action to be taken, is vested in that
body.

(2) The payment of any fee which may be prescribed pursuant to
subsection (1)(b) shall not be required in any case in which the
person aggrieved furnishes evidence from the Ministry of Health and
Social Services that he is in receipt of supplementary benefit or
furnishes evidence to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that he
is a person whose disposable income and disposable capital,
calculated pursuant to [Article 14 of the Legal Aid, Advice and
Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981], are such that a
contribution to the legal aid fund would not be payable by him
under [Article 12 of that Order] in respect of any proceeding and
such payment

(a)may, in addition, be waived or returned by the Commissioner at
his discretion in any particular case;

(b)shall be returned in any case in which the Commissioner after
investigation is satisfied that the matters alleged in the complaint
are substantially true and that the person aggrieved had reasonable
and probable cause for believing that the complaint was one which
it was proper for the Commissioner to investigate; and

(c)if not so returned, shall be credited to the Exchequer.

(3) Except as hereinafter provided, the Commissioner shall not
conduct an investigation under this Act in respect of any of the
following matters, that is to say

(a)any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had
a right of appeal, reference or review to or before a tribunal
constituted under any statutory provision or otherwise; or

(b)any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had
a remedy by way of proceedings in a court of law;

(i)notwithstanding that the person aggrieved has or had such a right
or remedy as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), if
the Commissioner is satisfied that in the particular circumstance it
is not reasonable to expect him to resort or have resorted to it;
or

(ii)notwithstanding that the person aggrieved had exercised such a
right as is mentioned in paragraph (a), if he complains that the
injustice sustained by him remains unremedied thereby and the
Commissioner is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for that
complaint.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), the Commissioner shall not
conduct an investigation under this Act in respect of any such
actions or matters as are described in Schedule 2 as from time to
time in force by virtue of any Order in Council made under section
13(1)(d) otherwise than as authorised by the proviso to paragraph 3
of that Schedule.

(5) In determining whether to initiate, continue or discontinue an
investigation under this Act, the Commissioner shall, subject to the
foregoing provisions, act in accordance with his own discretion; and
any question whether a complaint is duly made under this Act shall
be determined by the Commissioner.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 6
Provisions relating to complaints.

6.(1) A complaint under this Act may be made by any person
aggrieved, not being

(a)a government department or a local body or other authority or
body constituted for purposes of public service or of local
government or for the purposes of carrying on under national or
public ownership any industry or undertaking or part of an industry
or undertaking;

(b)any other authority or body the majority of whose members are
appointed by Her Majesty or the Governor or any Minister of the
Crown or Minister of Northern Ireland or department of the
government of the United Kingdom or of the government of Northern
Ireland, or whose revenues consist wholly or mainly of moneys
provided by Parliament or by the Parliament of the United Kingdom;
or

(c)a member, at the time of the action complained of, of the local
or public body against whom the complaint is made.

(2) Where the person by whom a complaint might have been made
under the foregoing provisions of this Act has died or is for any
reason unable to act for himself, the complaint may be made by his
personal representative or by a member of his family or other
individual suitable to represent him; but except as aforesaid a
complaint shall not be entertained under this Act unless made by
the person aggrieved himself.

(3) A complaint shall not be entertained under this Act unless made
in such form containing such particulars as may be prescribed and a
separate complaint shall be made out in respect of each separate
injustice alleged to have been sustained by the person aggrieved.

(4) A complaint shall not be entertained under this Act unless it
is made to the Commissioner before a day falling not later than
two months from the time when the person aggrieved first had
knowledge, or might reasonably be deemed to have had knowledge, of
the action complained of or not later than six months of the
action complained of whichever of those days shall first occur but
the Commissioner may conduct an investigation of a complaint not
made within the time required by this subsection where he considers
that there are special circumstances which make it proper to do so
and where the action complained of did not occur earlier than one
year before the passing of this Act.

(5) A complaint shall not be entertained under this Act unless the
person aggrieved is resident in Northern Ireland (or, if he is
dead, was so resident at the time of his death) or the complaint
relates to action taken in relation to him while he was present in
Northern Ireland or in relation to rights or obligations which
accrued or arose in Northern Ireland.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 7
Purpose of investigation and provisions for giving effect to
recommendations made thereon.

7.(1) The purposes of the investigation by the Commissioner shall be

(a)to ascertain if the matters alleged in the complaint (i) may
properly warrant investigation by him under this Act, (ii) are in
substance, true and (iii) disclose any maladministration by or on
behalf of the body against whom the complaint is made; and, where
it appears to him to be desirable,

(b)to effect a settlement of the matter complained of or, if that
is not possible, to state what action should in his opinion be
taken by the body against whom the complaint is made to effect a
fair settlement thereof or by that body or by the person aggrieved
to remove, or have removed, the cause of the complaint.

(2) Where on an investigation made by him under this Act the
Commissioner reports that a person aggrieved has sustained injustice
in consequence of maladministration, the county court may on an
application made to it by that person, in accordance with county
court rules and upon notice to the body against whom the complaint
investigated was made, by order award that person such damages as
the court may think just in all the circumstances to compensate him
for any loss or injury which he may have suffered on account of

(a)expenses reasonably incurred by him in connection with the subject
matter of the maladministration on which this complaint was founded;
and

(b)his loss of opportunity of acquiring the benefit which he might
reasonably be expected to have had but for such maladministration:
subject, however, to the application of the same rule concerning the
duty of a person to mitigate his loss as applies in relation to
damages recoverable at common law.

(3) Where on application made to it under subsection (2) it appears
to the county court that justice could only be done to the person
aggrieved by directing the body against whom his complaint was made
to take, or to refrain from taking, any particular action, the
court may, if satisfied that in all the circumstances it is
reasonable so to do, make an order containing such a direction and

(i)for the purposes of such an order the county court shall have
the like jurisdiction as the High Court to grant any mandatory or
other injunction; and

(ii)disobedience to any such order by any body on whom notice of
the making thereof was duly served or by any member or officer of
that body may be treated as a contempt of court to which section
141 of the County Courts Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 applies.

(4) Without prejudice to [Articles 61 and 65 of the County Courts
(Northern Ireland) Order 1980], any local or public body or any
person aggrieved who is dissatisfied with an order of a county
court under subsection (2) or subsection (3) may appeal from that
order as if it had been made in the exercise of the jurisdiction
conferred by Part III of [that Order and the appeal were brought
under Article 60 of that Order].

(5) Where on an investigation made by him under this Act the
Commissioner reports that a person aggrieved has sustained injustice
in consequence of maladministration and it appears to the
Commissioner (whether or not so stated in his report) that

(a)the local or public body against whom the investigation was made
had previously engaged in conduct which was of the same kind as,
or of a similar kind to, that which amounted to such
maladministration; and

(b)such body is likely, unless restrained by order of the High
Court under this subsection, to engage in future in such conduct;

(6) The jurisdiction conferred by subsection (5) shall be exercisable
by a single judge of the High Court without a jury, and for all
purposes of or incidental to the exercise of that jurisdiction and
the execution and enforcement of any orders under that subsection a
judge of the High Court may exercise all the power, authority and
jurisdiction vested in or capable of being exercised by the High
Court in relation to the hearing or determination of any civil
cause or matter within the jurisdiction of the Court.

(7) The High Court may, in determining for the purposes of an
application made to it under subsection (5) whether or not a local
or public body has engaged in a course of conduct, take into
account not only the action investigated by the Commissioner on
complaint of the person aggrieved but also any other action whether
or not the subject of an investigation by the Commissioner which
may appear to the High Court to be relevant.

(8) For the purposes of any proceedings authorised by this section,
a recommendation of the Commissioner and any report of the
Commissioner relating to the complaint in connection with which the
recommendation is made shall, unless the contrary is proved, be
accepted as evidence of the facts stated therein and in any such
proceedings the authenticity of any such recommendation or report may
be proved by production of a certificate of its authenticity signed
by the Commissioner or an officer of the Commissioner.

(9) The powers conferred on a county court under subsections (2)
and (3) may be exercised by that court notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in any transferred provision which imposes limitations
on its jurisdiction by reference to an amount claimed or to the
value of property.

(10) Nothing in this section shall affect the right to bring any
proceedings, whether civil or criminal, which might have been brought
if this section had not been passed.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 8
Procedure in respect of investigations.

8.(1) Where the Commissioner proposes to conduct an investigation
pursuant to a complaint under this Act, he shall furnish to

(a)the body concerned; and

(b)any person who is alleged in the complaint to have taken or
authorised the action complained of or who is otherwise involved in
allegations made in the complaint;

(2) Every investigation under this Act shall be conducted in
private, but, except as provided by this section, the procedure for
conducting an investigation shall be such as the Commissioner
considers appropriate in the circumstances of the case.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), the
Commissioner may obtain information from such persons and in such
manner and make such inquiries, as he thinks fit.

(4) The Commissioner shall not be obliged to hold any hearing, and
no person shall be entitled as of right to be heard by the
Commissioner but, if at any time during the course of an
investigation it appears to the Commissioner that there may be
sufficient grounds for making any report or recommendation that may
adversely affect any local or other public body or any member or
officer thereof or any Minister or department or other person, the
Commissioner shall give to that body, member, officer, Minister,
department or other person, as the case may be, if it or he
should so desire, the opportunity of being examined by its or his
own solicitor or counsel and the opportunity of testing by
cross-examination, by its or his own solicitor or counsel or
otherwise, any evidence which may affect it or him: and where such
opportunities are given to a person other than the person aggrieved,
the like opportunities shall be given to the person aggrieved.

(5) The Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, pay to the person by
whom the complaint was made and to any other person who attends or
furnishes information for the purposes of an investigation under this
Act

(a)sums in respect of expenses properly incurred by them;

(b)allowances by way of compensation for the loss of their time;

(6) No investigation under this Act shall affect the validity of
any action previously taken by the body concerned in the
investigation or previously taken by any Minister or government
department with respect to that body or any power or duty of that
body, Minister or department to take further action with respect to
any matters subject to the investigation.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 9
Evidence on an investigation.

9.(1) For the purposes of an investigation under this Act the
Commissioner may require any person who in his opinion is able to
furnish information or produce documents relevant to the
investigation, to furnish any such information or produce any such
document.

(2) For the purposes of any such investigation the Commissioner
shall have the same powers as the High Court in respect of

(a)the attendance and examination of witnesses, including the
administration of oaths or affirmations and the examination of
witnesses abroad; and

(b)the production of documents.

(3) A person shall not be compelled for the purposes of any
investigation under this Act to give any evidence or produce any
document which he could not be compelled to give or produce in
proceedings before the High Court.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 10
Obstruction and contempt.

10.(1) If any person without lawful excuse obstructs the Commissioner
or any officer of the Commissioner in the performance of his
functions under this Act, or is guilty of any act or omission in
relation to an investigation under this Act which, if that
investigation were a proceeding in the High Court, would constitute
contempt of court, the Commissioner may certify the offence to the
High Court.

(2) Where an offence is certified under this section, the High
Court may inquire into the matter and, after hearing

(a)any witnesses who may be produced against or on behalf of the
person charged with the offence; and

(b)any statement that may be offered in defence;

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to the
taking of any such action as is mentioned in section 8(6).

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 11
Reports by Commissioner.

11.(1) In any case where the Commissioner conducts an investigation
under this Act or decides not to conduct such an investigation, he
shall send to the person by whom the request for the investigation
was made a report of the results of the investigation or, as the
case may be, a statement of his reasons for not conducting an
investigation.

(2) In any case where the Commissioner conducts an investigation
under this Act, he shall also send a report of the results of the
investigation to

(a)the body concerned;

(b)any person who is alleged in the relevant complaint to have
taken or authorised the action complained of or otherwise to be
involved in the allegations made in the complaint.

(3) The Commissioner shall annually lay before each House of
Parliament a general report on the performance of his functions
under this Act and may from time to time lay such other reports
before Parliament as he may think fit.

(4) For the purposes of the law of defamation the publication by
the Commissioner or his officers of any matter which the
Commissioner is required or authorised to publish under this Act
shall be absolutely privileged.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 12
Provision for secrecy of information.

12.(1) It is hereby declared that the Commissioner and his officers
hold office under Her Majesty within the meaning of the Official
Secrets Act 1911.

(2) Information obtained by the Commissioner or his officers in the
course of, or for the purposes of, an investigation under this Act
shall not be disclosed except for the purposes of

(a)the investigation and of any report to be made thereon under
this Act;

(b)any proceedings for an offence under the Official Secrets Acts
1911 to 1939 alleged to have been committed in respect of
information obtained by the Commissioner or any of his officers by
virtue of this Act;

(c)any proceedings for an offence of perjury alleged to have been
committed in the course of an investigation under this Act;

(d)an inquiry with a view to the taking of proceedings of the kind
mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (c); or

(e)any proceedings under section 7 or under section 10;

(3) A Minister may give notice in writing to the Commissioner, with
respect to any document or information specified in the notice, or
any class of documents or information so specified, that in the
opinion of the Minister the disclosure of that document or
information, or of documents or information of that class would be
prejudicial to the safety of Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom
or otherwise contrary to the public interest; and where such a
notice is given nothing in this Act shall be construed as
authorising or requiring the Commissioner or any officer of the
Commissioner to communicate to any person or for any purpose any
document or information specified in the notice, or any document or
information of a class so specified.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 13
Orders in Council.

13.(1) The Governor may by Order in Council

(a)make provision for the payment to any person who has held the
office of Commissioner or in respect of the service of a person as
Commissioner, of such pension and other benefits as may be specified
in the Order;

(b)amend Schedule 1 by the alteration of any entry, or the removal
or qualification of any entry, or the insertion of any additional
entry;

(c)prescribe the fee, if any, to be paid under section 5(1)(b) in
respect of any complaint;

(d)amend Schedule 2 so as to exclude from the provisions of that
Schedule any such action or matter as is described in the Order;

(e)prescribe the form in which complaints are required to be made
under this Act and the particulars to be furnished in connection
therewith; or

(f)make provision for any matter appearing to him to be necessary
or advisable for carrying out effectively the intent or purpose of
this Act or of any provision of this Act.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) authorises the
inclusion in Schedule 1 of any government department or of any
authority or body other than an authority or body exercising
functions entrusted to it by a transferred provision or having its
expenses substantially defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

(3) The Governor shall not be recommended to make any Order in
Council under this section until a draft thereof has been laid
before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of
Parliament.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 14
Interpretation.

14.(1) In this Act

"action" includes failure to act and other expressions connoting
action shall be construed accordingly;

"the Commissioner" means the Northern Ireland Commissioner for
Complaints;

"harbour authority" means a person or body of persons empowered
under or by virtue of a transferred provision to make charges in
respect of vessels entering a harbour in Northern Ireland or using
facilities therein;

["local body" means ... a district council, or a joint committee
appointed by two or more such councils for a purpose in which they
are jointly interested, or any committee or sub-committee of such a
council or joint committee;

"officer" includes servant;]

"Minister" means a Minister of Northern Ireland;

"person aggrieved" means the person who claims to have sustained
such injustice as is mentioned in section 5(1);

"prescribed" means prescribed by Order in Council made under section
13;

"professions supplementary to medicine" has the same meaning as in
the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960;

"statutory provision" and "transferred provision" have the same
meanings as in section 1 of the Interpretation Act (Northern
Ireland) 1954;

"tribunal" includes any authority, body or person having power to
determine any matter.

(2) It is hereby declared that nothing in this Act authorises or
requires the Commissioner to question the merits of a decision taken
without maladministration by a local or public body in the exercise
of a discretion vested in that body.

(3) Any reference in this Act to a local or public body includes
a reference to the members or officers of that body.

COMMISSIONER FOR COMPLAINTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 15
Short title and commencement.

15.(1) This Act may be cited as the Commissioner for Complaints Act
(Northern Ireland) 1969.

(2) Commencement

(3) Subject to section 6(4) a complaint under this Act may be made
in respect of matters which arose before the commencement of this
Act.

Any local body.

Any new town commission established under the New Towns Acts
(Northern Ireland) 1965 to 1968 and any committee or sub-committee
thereof.

Any harbour authority.

...

Any board established under the Agricultural Marketing Acts (Northern
Ireland) 1933 or 1964.

...

[Education and Library Boards established under the Education and
Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.]

[Enterprise Ulster.]

[The Fire Authority for Northern Ireland.

[A Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of
the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order
1972.]

...

Industrial Training Boards established under section 1 of the
Industrial Training Act (Northern Ireland) 1964.

[The National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for
Northern Ireland.]

[The Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and
Social Services.]

[The Northern Ireland Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations
Board.]

[The Northern Ireland Council for Nurses and Midwives.]

[The Northern Ireland Development Agency.]

[The Northern Ireland Electricity Service.]

...

The Northern Ireland Fire Authority.

[The Northern Ireland General Certificate of Education of Examinations
Board.]

...

[The Northern Ireland Housing Executive.]

The Northern Ireland Housing Trust.

[The Northern Ireland Schools Examinations Council.]

[The Northern Ireland Staffs Council for the Health and Social
Services.]

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

...

...

Para.1 rep. by SI 1973/2163 art.14(2) sch.6

2. The commencement or conduct of any civil or criminal proceedings
before a court of law in the United Kingdom, or of proceedings
before any international court or tribunal.

3. Action which is or may be investigated by the Attorney-General
with a view to the institution of proceedings under [section 31 or
46(9) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972].

Provided that, if, after the Attorney-General has decided not to
proceed with such an investigation into such action or not to
institute such proceedings in respect of it, or after the final
determination of any such proceedings in respect of such action, a
person aggrieved complains that such action resulted in his
sustaining injustice in consequence of maladministration and that such
injustice has not been remedied, the Commissioner may, if satisfied
that there are reasonable grounds for that complaint investigate such
action and may do so notwithstanding any limitation of time imposed
by section 6(4) so long as the action occurred not earlier than
one year before the passing of this Act.

4. Action in the discharge of a professional duty by a medical or
dental practitioner, pharmacist, nurse, midwife or member of a
profession supplementary to medicine in the course of diagnosis,
treatment or care of a particular patient.

5. Action taken in respect of any matter which is within the scope
of the powers of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Commissioner for
Administration.

6. Action taken in respect of any matter outside the scope of the
powers of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

1972 c.9