What is the Tribunal?
The Tribunal is a court established and regulated by the laws of the Catholic Church. It is directed by the Bishop of Lansing. By his authority it administers justice, vindicates rights and assists in the pastoral care of the people of the diocese. It is supervised by the Judicial Vicar and staffed by other qualified personnel, in particular canon lawyers, whom the bishop appoints. It conducts ecclesiastical trials according to Church law. A major function of the Tribunal is to investigate the validity or invalidity of marriages. Whenever Catholics or non Catholics have been previously married, this must be done to establish whether they may enter a new marriage in the Catholic Church. Thus it assists persons by finding if a declaration of invalidity or dissolution might be possible. The Tribunal uses both the administrative and judicial procedures outlined in the Code of Canon Law to determine the invalidity of a marriage or to dissolve it. It seeks, in the words of Pope Pius XI, “to
England, Wales, N.Ireland and Scotland each have their own Tribunal, which hears appeals (or references in Scotland) from parents against education authorities’ decisions about issues relating to statutory assessment (q.v.), statements (q.v.) and co-ordinated support plans (q.v.). In England, Wales and N. Ireland, the Tribunal also hears claims of disability discrimination against schools. Tribunals are independent bodies. Appeals or references are heard by a panel comprising a chair (or convener in Scotland) who is legally qualified and two members who have experience of SEN (or ASN in Scotland). The tribunals have a permanent location, where some hearings take place, but hearings are held at various locations around the country, and are arranged so that parents do not have to travel too far to attend a hearing. It is possible to claim travel expenses incurred in attending a hearing. During the hearing, both sides are given the opportunity to present their case, and the panel will ask
