FL v Department for Communities (HB) (Tribunals - Jurisdiction)

This is a claimant's application for leave to appeal from the decision of an appeal tribunal sitting at Belfast.

For the reasons I give below, I grant leave to appeal. However, I disallow the appeal.

The appeal was considered by a tribunal consisting of a legally qualified member (LQM) sitting alone on 21 November 2016. The LQM held that there was no valid appeal. The applicant then requested a statement of reasons for the tribunal's decision and this was issued on 4 May 2018. The applicant applied to the LQM for leave to appeal from the decision of the appeal tribunal. Leave to appeal was refused by a determination issued on 17 July 2018. On 24 July 2018 the applicant applied for leave to appeal from a Social Security Commissioner.

The applicant, represented by Mr Black of Law Centre NI, submitted that the tribunal had erred in law on the basis that:

(ii) it denied him his right to property under Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the EHCR;