On 26 March 2020, the President of the EAT announced that the EAT would not
be in a position to hold any hearings in the immediate short term and that it
would be operationally severely restricted for the time-being. Until further
notice, the following will apply:
• All types of hearings in the EAT, whether in London or Edinburgh, which were
listed to take place up to and including 15 April 2020 have been postponed.
The President or an EAT judge may, however, issue directions via remote
communication in respect of a particular case should it be deemed necessary
for urgent reasons.
• The time limit for instituting appeals, and the requirements for the proper
and effective institution of an appeal, remain as set out in the EAT Rules and
the EAT Practice Direction. During this period of restriction, Notices of Appeal
and accompanying documents must be sent by email in all cases. The limits
on the size of email attachments should be noted.
• During this period, parties should anticipate that it may take longer for the
EAT administration to respond to communications than usual.
• It is anticipated that a further announcement will be made before 10 April
2020, advising whether these restrictions will extend beyond 15 April 2020,
and/or regarding arrangements for hearings taking place thereafter.
• When hearings resume, they will initially be conducted exclusively by
telephone, Skype or some other form of video link.
• These measures may be subject to change, depending on government advice
and the ability of the EAT to hold hearings, including remotely.
