Fair Employment Tribunal (Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999
These Regulations amend Schedule 1 to the Fair Employment Tribunal (Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1989 which contains the rules of procedure in relation to complaints to the Fair Employment Tribunal for Northern Ireland under Article 38 of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 by—extending the time limit for a respondent to enter an appearance to the proceedings from 14 days to 21 days (regulation 3);enabling a tribunal exercising the jurisdiction of the Fair Employment Tribunal of Northern Ireland, on the application of a party to the proceedings or of its own motion, to require a party to furnish to the tribunal a written answer to any question if it considers that the answer to that question may help to clarify any issue likely to arise for determination in the proceedings and that it would be likely to assist the progress of the proceedings for that answer to be available to the tribunal before the hearing (regulation 4);providing that where, in his absence, a party is required to provide such a written answer, he may apply to the Fair Employment Tribunal for Northern Ireland to vary or set aside the requirement (regulation 5);providing that, where a requirement to provide a written answer is not complied with, a tribunal exercising the jurisdiction of the Fair Employment Tribunal for Northern Ireland may dismiss the whole or part of the originating application or strike out the whole or part of the notice of appearance and, where appropriate, direct that a respondent shall be debarred from defending altogether (regulation 6);making consequential provision (regulation 7).