Philip Mbeng Eben v Registrar for Approved Driving Instructors

1. On 11 th February 2025, case management directions were sent out to the parties which directed the Appellant as follows: “The Appellant is to confirm to the Tribunal if he still wishes to continue with his appeal. If he wishes to withdraw the appeal he must do so in writing in accordance with Rule 17(1)(a). The appeal may then be withdrawn, so long as the Tribunal consents in accordance with Rule 17(2). If the Appellant wishes for his appeal to continue, he is to send to the Tribunal and to the Respondent a witness statement which includes the following information: (a) The date of the decision he wishes to appeal against; (b) The decision notice number he wishes to appeal against; (c) His reasons for filing the appeal out of time. That witness statement must be signed and dated and clearly state who is making the statement. The statement must have the following statement of truth at the bottom: “I believe that the facts and matters contained in this statement are true to the best of my knowledge and belief”. That document must be supplied within 14 days of receipt of this order and must be sent to both the Tribunal and the Respondent. If that statement is received, the Tribunal will consider whether or not the appeal may be considered, having regard to its discretion under Rule 5(3)(a). Failure to provide the statement may result in the appeal being struck out, under Rule 8(3)(a) and Rule 8(4) without a further hearing or recourse to the parties.”

2. The Appellant was given 14 days to comply with the direction to provide a witness statement which details the decision he wished to appeal against, the decision notice number he wished to appeal against, and his reasons for filing his appeal out of time. That period expired on 25 th February 2025, and the Tribunal has received no further response from the Appellant, either to communicate that he wished to continue his appeal or that he wished to withdraw the appeal under Rule 17 of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chambers) Rules 2009.

3. The Appellant has had the benefit of a further 31 days in March to communicate his intentions, but has failed to comply with the directions provided, which clearly state that a “failure to provide the [witness] statement may result in the appeal being struck out” .

4. Having regard to the overriding objective of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chambers) Rules 2009, which is to enable the Tribunal to deal with cases fairly and justly, and taking account of the additional time which the Appellant has had to communicate with the Tribunal, my decision is that this appeal is struck out under Rule 8(3)(a) for failing to comply with the court’s direction.

5. Under Rule 8(5), the Appellant may apply for the proceedings to be reinstated, but any application must be made in writing and received by the Tribunal within 28 days of this decision to strike out being sent out to the Appellant.