After the long weekend, the Court of Appeal judgment of Sastry and another v GMC (30 April) returns us gently back to the waters of professional regulation – it provides a helpful reminder of when the Court may be more (or less) likely to defer to a tribunal’s judgement.
In one appeal, consideration is given to whether there was a failure to “have regard to a line of authority” (GMC v Jagivan) that indicates that matters involving sexual misconduct fell within a category where the Court can more readily assess the appropriateness of sanction and “give less weight to the expertise of the Tribunal”.
The Court “agreed” that in matters such as dishonesty or sexual misconduct, it was “well placed to assess what is needed to protect the public or maintain the reputation of the profession and is less dependent upon the expertise of the Tribunal” (para 113).
Well worth a read! A copy of the judgment can be found here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/623.html