Any leeway allowed to litigants in person in the Isle of Man Employment Tribunal does not extend to permitting parties to dictate Tribunal procedure, the Isle of Man Appeal Court has found.

In a recent appeal from an Employment Tribunal unfair dismissal claim, the Isle of Man High Court at first overturned the Tribunal Chairperson's decision to strike out a claimant's case because, amongst other things, the claimant had decided to walk out of the hearing as he was dissatisfied with the process. The court's decision was itself then appealed to the Isle of Man Staff of Government Division where the Appeal Deemsters held that the Employment Tribunal Chairperson had been correct in striking out the claim at first instance. The Staff of Government Division considered that a litigant in person who voluntarily leaves a hearing without good reason cannot rely on human rights arguments to save him from a strike out. The Appeal Deemsters commented:

"The fact that he absented himself from the hearing without apparent good reason cannot legitimately be used by him as supporting an argument that he was not given an opportunity to be heard. He did have an opportunity to be heard. He simply did not take it. There is a lot of talk about human rights. Human rights are of course important but with human rights also come responsibilities."

The Appeal Deemsters reviewed relevant case law on this issue and found that there was not one rule for a represented litigant and another for a litigant in person. They also found that excessive indulgence should not be extended to litigants in person.

The Staff of Government Division reviewed a number of other grounds and upheld the appeal from the former employer of the claimant such that the Employment Tribunal's original decision to strike out the claimant's unfair dismissal claim was affirmed.

John T Aycock

Joint Managing Director

M&P Legal

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