Five Tribunals of the Network Constituted

Five tribunals of the Velocity Interoperability Network have been constituted with effect from today. The Certification Tribunal hears challenges to the refusal, conditioning or withdrawal of a certification against a Network standard. The Licensing Tribunal hears challenges to decisions on licences to operate Network services. The Data Protection Tribunal hears complaints that a member or a department has handled personal data otherwise than in accordance with Network rules. The Procurement Tribunal hears challenges to the award of Network contracts. The Staff Tribunal hears employment matters concerning the staff of Network departments.

The tribunals decide matters at first instance and sit as a panel of one legally qualified chair and two members. An appeal lies from each tribunal to the Appeals Division of the Network Court on a point of rule or standard, and must be lodged within 28 days of the tribunal's decision.

The tribunals begin sitting between 15 and 24 September 2026. They are administered by the Registry of the Network Court, which keeps a single record of matters across the Court and the tribunals and publishes every decision in the register of decisions.

During the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026, 168 matters were transferred to the Department from the interim panels convened by member organisations. Of these, 127 were concluded before establishment and 41 remain open. The figures and the sitting arrangements are set out on the Courts and Tribunals page of this site.