The War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal came into existence on 3 November, 2008 under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
It took over the functions of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals, which had existed in their modern form since 1919, dealing with claims for awards in respect of injuries resulting from military service.
The special position of the Armed Forces – reflected in the Military Covenant which refers to the need to take care of armed forces personnel who voluntarily give up their human rights on active duty – meant that a separate Chamber was created in the new tribunals system to take over the jurisdiction of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal.
Advantages of the change
Andrew Bano believes that this arrangement has many advantages: "On the one hand, we are small enough to respond flexibly and effectively to the individual needs of our users; on the other, as a member of the much larger family of tribunals, we are in a position – without in any way compromising our identity or distinctive approach – to utilise the resources which are available within the new unified tribunal system.”
Chamber make-up
"The make-up of the Chamber reflects the distinctive knowledge and skills needed in this jurisdiction,” says Andrew Bano.
The 71 members of the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber – all fee-paid except for the President and a full-time Principal Judge- fall into three groups:
- Legally qualified members;
- Medical members, including doctors with a service background;
- Service members, including a number of high-ranking retired officers
"Our tribunals – which always have one member from each group – consider about 2,500 cases per year, at tribunal centres all over the country,” notes Andrew.
"We will also, from time to time, send out members of the tribunal to visit an appellant, which will sometimes involve a medical examination in the appellant’s home. That’s an unusual feature of our work.”
Traumatic cases
A sensitive approach is needed: appellants typically have no legal representation (although they are often represented by the Royal British Legion and other ex-servicemen’s organisations).
"In many cases, appellants are elderly and have to recall very traumatic incidents that may have taken place many years ago,” says Andrew.
"Our service members play a vital role in bringing to our tribunals not only their specialist knowledge of service conditions - for example, about conditions in prisoner-of-war camps - but also an understanding of the difficulties faced by appellants in recounting events of many years previously and the effect of their injuries in civilian life.
"The oddities of some of the legal tests which we have to apply also presents challenges for our legal members; for example, in some war pensions cases the onus of proof is on the Secretary of State to disprove beyond reasonable doubt a connection between an established injury and a factor of service.”
Looking to the future
Andrew is enthusiastic about the Chamber’s future. "I think we stand to gain tremendously from the tribunal reform programme. As an Upper Tribunal judge, I see my role as to provide judicial leadership, following the trend of recent appointments in the tribunal system.”
Challenges for the future include maintaining the service expertise of the jurisdiction given that National Service ended in 1960, and Andrew sees the voluntary and reserve forces as a possible source of recruitment for the future.
The oldest benefit
War pensions are quite possibly the most ancient form of state benefit – in Britain, they can be traced back to King Alfred.
Statutory provisions allowing for benefits to be paid to soldiers and sailors have been found dating from the 16th century.
During the early 19th century, the Commissioners of the Chelsea Hospital were responsible for awarding disability pensions to soldiers; from 1846, the responsibility shifted to the Secretary of State for War.
