General appeals information
Tuesday 20 July 2004
If you are an importer of food and feed into the United Kingdom and you are concerned about enforcement activity or intend to appeal against any Notices or actions taken, and you are in any way unsure whether to appeal or how to do this, you are advised to seek independent legal opinion, for example from a Citizens Advice Bureau, Solicitor or other independent legal advisor.
Where you are entitled to appeal against a notice relating to imported food or feed, details of time periods for the appeal and which court to appeal to should be provided to you by the officer serving the notice. If not then please contact the officer and ask for the information.
If the legislation concerned does not provide an appeal mechanism then you may be entitled to challenge the legality of your case by way of Judicial Review. Again, if you intend to apply for a Judicial Review you would be best advised to seek legal advice before commencing this action. In Wales, Northern Ireland or England, the basic process to initiate a Judicial Review would be to set out your complaint in a letter to the enforcement authority concerned, apply to the High Court for permission to issue legal proceedings (there are short time limits). Then, assuming such permission is granted, serve papers on the enforcement authority.
In Scotland there is no requirement to seek prior permission for a Judicial Review. A petition to the Court of Session can initiate this.