Why is the GMC moving to the civil standard of proof?
We believe that the application of the civil standard of proof more accurately reflects the function of a GMC Fitness to Practise panel. The panel is not a criminal court and it is not applying the criminal law. The GMC already uses the civil standard of proof in proceedings before the Investigation Committee and where there is a dispute as to facts at Registration Panels and Registration Appeals Panels. Since 2004, our reformed Fitness to Practise procedures take a holistic approach and examine a doctor’s fitness to practise in the round. The previous demarcation between conduct cases on the one hand and health and performance cases on the other no longer exists. One effect of the change has been that health and performance cases have assumed the paraphernalia of conduct cases, including the application of the criminal standard. We believe that the criminal standard of proof is particularly inappropriate where a practitioner’s issues are health or performance related. The great majori
