Decisions and the Register
Every decision of the Network Court and of the five tribunals of the Velocity Interoperability Network is published in the register of decisions kept by the Registry of the Network Court. The register opened on 6 September 2026. Publication is the ordinary way in which the rules and standards of the Network are made known to the members, and the Justice Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network publishes decisions whether or not the party that brought the matter succeeded.
A decision is published within ten working days of being given. Before publication, a party may apply within five working days for the redaction of commercially confidential material or of personal data. The Registry decides the application, redacts only what is necessary, and records in the register entry that a redaction has been made. A decision is never withheld from the register in its entirety.
A decision of the Network Court binds the tribunals. A decision of one division does not bind another division, but a division follows the reasoning of another unless it gives reasons for departing from it. A decision of a tribunal binds only the parties to the matter in which it was given.
The register also carries the 127 determinations made by the interim panels that member organisations convened before the Department existed. They are recorded under the prefix TP as transitional determinations. They are of persuasive value only: they do not bind the Court or the tribunals, and a party who relies on one must say why the reasoning should be followed.
The register at establishment
- 127
- Transitional determinations carried into the register on 6 September 2026
- 9
- Divisions and tribunals whose decisions the register records
- 10
- Working days within which a decision is published
- 5
- Working days to apply for the redaction of confidential material
Reference scheme
| Prefix | Body | Example reference |
|---|---|---|
| NCG | Network Court, General Division | NCG/2026/0001 |
| NCS | Network Court, Standards Division | NCS/2026/0001 |
| NCE | Network Court, Enforcement Division | NCE/2026/0001 |
| NCA | Network Court, Appeals Division | NCA/2026/0001 |
| CT | Certification Tribunal | CT/2026/0001 |
| LT | Licensing Tribunal | LT/2026/0001 |
| DT | Data Protection Tribunal | DT/2026/0001 |
| PT | Procurement Tribunal | PT/2026/0001 |
| ST | Staff Tribunal | ST/2026/0001 |
| TP | Transitional determination of an interim panel | TP/2026/0114 |
What each entry records
- The reference and the date
- The reference under the scheme above, the date the decision was given and the date it was published in the register.
- The body and the panel
- The division or tribunal that decided the matter, the number of judges or members who sat, and whether it sat in closed session.
- The parties and their representatives
- The member organisations or departments that were parties, and the names of the officers or representatives who appeared for them.
- The rule or standard in question
- The provision of the Network rules or the interoperability standard on which the matter turned, and the order that was sought.
- The decision and any order
- The reasons given, the order made and any period allowed for compliance, together with a note of any redaction made before publication.
Transitional determinations published on 6 September 2026
The entries below are among the first carried into the register. They illustrate the subject matter that came before the interim panels during the transition period and the form in which determinations are recorded. The full set of 127 entries is available from the Registry on request.
| Reference | Date | Matter | Subject | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP/2026/0009 | 17 August 2026 | Standards question | Whether a member may sign messages with a key held on behalf of another member | Determination that it may not, save under a published delegation |
| TP/2026/0031 | 21 August 2026 | Member dispute | Timeliness of a monthly data-sharing return between two members | Settled by agreement before determination |
| TP/2026/0048 | 25 August 2026 | Member dispute | Allocation of a block of shared identifiers between three members | Determination allocating the block in equal parts |
| TP/2026/0072 | 28 August 2026 | Appeal from a Network office | Withdrawal of a certification following a failed conformance test | Withdrawal upheld; retest permitted after 30 days |
| TP/2026/0094 | 1 September 2026 | Enforcement application | Charging by a member for access to a shared index maintained at Network expense | Undertaking recorded to withdraw the charge |
| TP/2026/0114 | 4 September 2026 | Standards question | Meaning of a service window in the published service-level standard | Determination that the window excludes planned maintenance |
Obtaining a copy of a decision
Step 1: Find the reference
Every decision has a reference under the scheme set out above. If you do not have it, give the Registry the names of the parties and the approximate date.
Step 2: Write to the Registry
Send the reference, or the details you have, to the Registry of the Network Court by email. There is no charge for a copy.
Step 3: Say whether you need the redacted or unredacted decision
The published version is supplied to anyone. An unredacted version is supplied only to a party to the matter, and only where the party asks for it in the name of an officer of the member or department.
Step 4: Receive the copy
The Registry sends the copy by email within five working days. Where a redaction application is still outstanding, the Registry says so and sends the copy once the application has been decided.
Enquiries
Requests for a copy of a decision, and questions about an entry in the register, may be sent to contact@justice.gov.vin. The Registry does not comment on a matter that has not yet been decided.
The bodies whose decisions the register records are listed on the Courts and Tribunals page. The rules governing publication and redaction are described on the Rules of Procedure page, and the steps for lodging a matter on the Courts page.