Frequently asked questions

• Where does EAP get its authority?

  The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, specifically Article 9, sets the authority of the English Appeals Panel (EAP).

• Are the members of EAP elected by members?

  No. The EAP consists of three English Party appointees to the Federal Appeals Panel elected by English Council (these are the Officers of the EAP) and eleven ordinary panel members appointed by each of the regions. All members are volunteers.

  You can find who sits on the EAP on the organisation chart here [need to insert]. You can find short biographies of its officers here. [need to insert].

  Members of the EAP are appointed for five-year terms and were last appointed in January 2026. They exercise their function independently and impartially, supported by a Registrar from the Standards Office who may be a Party employee.

• How do I appeal to the EAP?

  As the Appellant in a case, you should make your appeal on the form provided on the EAP’s website. You should email the form to the Standards Office standardsofficer@libdems.org.uk.

  You can post the form to the following address if you experience difficulty with emailing. 

  Office of the English Party, LDHQ, First Floor, 66 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AU

  If you experience any difficulty completing the form or require it in an alternative format, please contact the Standards Office by emailing standardsofficer@libdems.org.uk for assistance.

• What information must I supply as an Appellant?

  You must provide your name, address, contact details and membership number.

  You must supply details of the person or persons who you expect will be responding to your case (the Respondents).

  You must set out the grounds for your case, clearly and succinctly, with sufficient explanation and evidence, ensuring you have covered all the points you wish to raise.  The timeline is very important so that EAP can determine if you are in time to make your appeal.

  You must set out the remedies that you are asking for. These must be remedies that the EAP can order (see later for types of remedies that EAP can order). 

• I am a Respondent in a case, how am I notified of this?

  A Respondent will initially be sent a copy of the form completed by the appellant requesting a ruling.  

  The Standards Office notifies respondents that they are named in a case. Usually this is by email. If you don’t have access to emails then the Standards Office will write to you. 

  The Standards Office will also intervene to ensure that all appropriate respondents are notified, including when respondents are not identified correctly or they are added later in the process.

• What should a Respondent in a case do?

  The EAP will first determine whether the appellant has a case that it can accept.  A Respondent is not expected to make any submissions at this stage, although they may do so, and the EAP may consider those submissions.

  If the case is accepted then it will proceed, ordinarily with the Case Manager seeking information from you. See What happens if the case is accepted?

• What are the expectations of EAP regarding Appellants and Respondents complying with procedures?

  We expect parties to have read the published Procedures, and any communications from the Case Manager via the Standards Office.

  We expect parties to EAP to cooperate so that the EAP can determine cases fairly and expeditiously. You will be expected to act reasonably and not to waste the time or resources of other parties, Standards Office staff, or the volunteers who serve on the EAP.

  We expect parties to make a reasonable search for evidence and to preserve and supply relevant evidence to the EAP, even where this may undermine their own case or assist the case of another party.

• What happens if I start a legal action in relation to a case before EAP?

  The EAP is not a court of law. It deals with internal disputes only in relation to the matters set out in the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England.

  The EAP recognises the right of any member to seek legal redress.

  Where a party to a case before EAP seeks legal redress, they must let the Standards Office know about this. If, at any point before the case is finally determined, any party is taking legal action, then the EAP will pause the case until such time as it is confirmed that such legal proceedings are concluded.

  For the avoidance of doubt, legal proceedings include an active police investigation, an active or pending criminal case, an active or pending civil action, or any other court or legal action where continued EAP activity may prejudice the interests of justice.

• If I am named as a Respondent, and I decide not to submit any documents, what will happen?

  If you do not adhere to any timetable set by the Case Manager or do not comply with directions given, the EAP may proceed in the absence of evidence or representations that were to have been filed by a missed deadline.

  No adverse inferences will be drawn if you do not submit evidence.

  As a member, you are still bound by the final decision made. See What powers does the EAP have over me as a member, party officer, or party body? 

• What role does the Standards Office play in the appeals process?

  The Standards Office acts as the Clerk or Registrar to the EAP. It records appeals submitted and stores information provided by the parties to an appeal (the appellants and the respondents). It also acts as the conduit between members of the EAP and the parties to the appeal.

  The Standards Office will not give you advice about your case and will not make decisions on your case.

• What cases does the EAP rule on?

  The EAP is, in most cases, an appeal body. This means it is not normally the first port of call for Party members in any disputes. It re-examines decisions made by lower bodies to ensure they are compliant with the Constitutions and rules of the Party. Those original decisions are often made by people who may have additional contextual knowledge that helps them find a solution to a problem that EAP won’t be able to achieve.

  The EAP has jurisdiction over specific disputes laid out in 9.5 of the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England. These are:

  • any dispute over the interpretation of these Articles (that is, those in the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England);
  • any claim that the rights under these Articles of a member or of a Party body have been infringed, provided that no appeal may be brought under this paragraph where there is another appropriate appeal procedure;
  • any dispute between the Liberal Democrats in England and a Regional or Local Party, or between Regional Parties or between Local Parties in different Regions; and
  • any matter expressly so provided by these Articles or by rules made hereunder.

  The EAP is expressly granted authority for the following appeals:

  • Appeals concerning internal elections under the English Party Election Regulations. The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England (1.7) sets out the rules governing internal elections. Thus, the rules follow those in the Federal Election Regulations.
  • Appeals concerning refusal of membership, under Article 6.5 of The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England
  • A parliamentary candidate whose approval has been refused may ask to be reassessed by the English Candidates Committee. Once that stage has been completed, they may appeal that decision to the EAP, under Article 7.4 of The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England. This right to appeal is limited by  The Federal Constitution of the Liberal Democrats (Article 19.3) so that an appeal cannot be made to the EAP where the removal is part of a recommendation under the complaints procedure. 

  Note: This procedure for parliamentary candidates is not available for cases arising after [insert date] because selection is now operated at Federal level.

• What are the time limits for appeals to EAP?

  There are three limits depending on your case: fourteen days, one month, and six weeks for anything else, unless there are exceptional circumstances causing a delay. Exceptional circumstances for which officers would consider an extension might include, for example, an extended hospital stay or medical emergency, or information only now coming to light.

  • Appeals against decisions of a Returning Officer at Regional or State Level must be referred to the English Appeals Panel within fourteen days of those decisions. This deadline is set out in the Federal Election regulations, which are followed by the English Party under Article 1.7 of The  Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England.  The Election Regulations are appended to the Federal Constitution.
  • The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, article 6.5, sets out the deadline for appeal against refusal of membership. The deadline is one calendar month from the date of the meeting when the refusal was decided. 
  • Appeals against the removal of a candidate from a list by the English Candidates Committee must be made in writing within fourteen days of the applicant being advised of the removal; this deadline is set in the Federal Constitution, Article 19.3.

  Note: This procedure for parliamentary candidates is not available for cases arising after [insert date] because selection is now operated at Federal level.

   

  • All other appeals must be made to the EAP within six weeks of the event, ruling or issue to be determined, subject to the right of the panel to extend this time in exceptional circumstances.

  The date of the receipt of the email with the appeal form or the date of posting the form is the date of your appeal.

• I have a complaint about the personal behaviour of another member of the party; will the EAP hear this appeal?

  No, the EAP will not hear this appeal.

  The EAP, following changes made in 2022, does not handle interpersonal complaints. Our focus is on party bodies and offices and, therefore, the EAP largely deals with disputes about rules and procedures.

  If your appeal is about misconduct by a member, your first port of call is under Article 23 of The Federal Constitution of the Liberal Democrats.

• Which other disputes will the EAP not deal with?

  EAP Procedures state that we will not accept a case until other appropriate avenues (e.g. appeals at a regional or state level) have been exhausted. We will send any cases back for you to appeal to the relevant body or officer first.

  It is important - even if you disagree with an earlier process - that it is allowed to come to a conclusion so that EAP can review that decision. If your claim is that a lower body made a biased or unfair decision, EAP will consider the evidence for that claim as well as any underlying issue that you include in your appeal document.

  We cannot hear appeals that are out of time, according to dates set by relevant constitutions and also stated in EAP Procedures.

  We will not hear appeals on matters that are insubstantial, unmeritorious, or vexatious.

• How does the EAP deal with appeals in the first instance?

  Under Article 9.7 of The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, the EAP makes and publishes its own procedures which govern the conduct of appeals. We publish these procedures on our website.

  Your appeal will be assigned a Case Manager. The Case Manager will be one of the officers of the EAP. There are two options at this point before a case is accepted and can proceed.

  • The Case Manager may determine that some - or all - of your appeal is not within the jurisdiction of EAP; the parts not within the jurisdiction of the EAP will not be accepted and you will receive notification of this decision.
  • The Case Manager may determine that your case is out of time and will not be accepted; you will receive notification of this decision.

• What happens if the case is accepted?

  If the Case manager determines that the case is within EAP’s jurisdiction and in time, there will ordinarily be several next steps.

  Stage	Notes on the stage
  The Case Manager may ask for more information from either the appellant or the respondents before proceeding further.	The Case Manager will ordinarily provide an indicative timetable for supplying the information.
  The Case Manager, in consultation with the other officers, may be able to make a Case Manager’s Determination about the case, without going to a Panel.	This would happen, for example, where there is no - or no material - dispute as to the facts or in a case concerning the interpretation of the English Party constitution, a Regional Party constitution or a Local Party constitution, or rules or standing orders made under those constitutions.
  Any party to the appeal may request a full Panel (which may be written or oral) to hear the case, having received the Case Manager’s Determination.
  If the Case Manager has determined that a full Panel is appropriate or any party has requested a full Panel, then that will be arranged via the Standards Office.	See paragraph 5, Initial Panel Procedures in EAP Procedures.
  The Panel Chair will convene a meeting of the Case Panel. At this meeting, the Case Panel will decide whether the case will proceed to an oral hearing or if it feels prepared to proceed on the written submissions.	If the Panel decides that an oral hearing is necessary, then the Panel hearing will be arranged by the Standards Office. You can read more about this in the EAP Procedures, paragraph 6, ‘Preparing for an Oral Hearing’.

   

• Can a party ask for a full oral hearing?

  ?

• What happens in an Oral Panel Hearing?

  An Oral Hearing will almost certainly be held virtually and is likely to last up to two hours; more complex cases may last longer.

  Each party to the appeal (the appellants and the respondents) will be able to make their case and respond to the other party’s case. The parties in the hearing will not question the other parties but can put questions they would like answered to the Panel Chair.

  Therefore, all comments and responses will be directed to the Chair or to one of the other Panel members in response to their questions. The Chair or other Panel members can ask questions of the appellants, respondents or witnesses.

  You can read more about Oral Hearings in the EAP Procedures, paragraph 7, ‘Procedure of the Oral Hearing’.

• Can I request support or reasonable adjustments to be made in an oral hearing?

  You can have a supporter or adviser with you, but they do not have the right to address the Panel.

  If you need reasonable adjustments to be made before or during a Panel hearing, then you should advise the Standards Office in good time of your needs.

• If I am named as an Appellant or Respondent, and I decide not to attend a panel hearing, what will happen?

  The EAP cannot compel anyone to attend a panel hearing. If you do not attend, then the panel hearing will proceed without you. The panel will consider evidence that you have submitted as part of its deliberations.

  No adverse conclusions will be drawn because of your decision not to attend,

• What happens after a written or oral Panel Hearing?

  The Panel Chair will draw up a draft ruling.

  The Panel Members review this draft ruling and approve the final ruling. The other Officers of the EAP also see the draft ruling and may comment on it, but only on the interpretation of rules and regulations.

  See EAP Procedures, paragraph 8, ‘Panel Ruling’.

  The agreed final decision is distributed to all parties, see EAP Procedures, paragraph 9, ‘Distribution’.

• What are the possible remedies that EAP might order?

  The EAP deals with matters under the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, largely disputes about rules and procedures. The EAP’s function is supervisory: to interpret and enforce the Constitution to and protect members’ rights under the Constitution.

  In making its decisions, the EAP may imply terms into the relevant Constitution or subordinate rules, regulations or procedures where this is necessary or must have been intended. Only the relevant body may rewrite a Constitution. 

  Therefore, the remedies available, assuming that the appeal is accepted as being within the jurisdiction of the panel, are confined to:

  • Making declarations - including declarations that a rule, regulation, procedure, practice, act, omission or decision is invalid or unauthorised by or under the Constitution and must be set aside;
  • Giving directions to do or refrain from doing something;
  • Declaring that no action need be taken because there is no case on which an alternative declaration can be made;

  You can find a list of all decisions made on the EAP website. This will give you a good idea of what remedies we have issued in the past.

  A note of caution: the Constitution, and the rules and regulations made under it, change from time to time. You must refer to the older versions of the Constitutions to check that no changes relevant to your case have been made before relying on a case as precedent. We have provided the dates that the cases came to us to help you with this task. You can ask the Standards Office to provide you with earlier versions of the Constitutions.

• Can the EAP sanction individual members, officers or party bodies?

  No, the EAP cannot sanction individual members, officers or party bodies because its role is not a disciplinary one. The remedies available will be confined to those described in the previous paragraph.

  Specifically, the EAP cannot sanction members by suspending or excluding them from the Party. It may, however, direct that a suspension or exclusion made by an admitting body is upheld as properly made.

• What powers does the EAP have over me as a member, party officer, or party body?

  Under the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, Article 9.8, the rulings of the EAP are final and binding, subject to any right of appeal under the Federal Constitution.

  Therefore - provided that decisions are properly made by EAP - members, party officers and party bodies are bound by the rulings made and must comply with them.

  Parties are expected to keep confidential any material received during the proceedings, including draft or unpublished rulings, and not to use information received in the proceedings for any extraneous purpose.  Knowing or reckless failure to do so may be grounds for complaint and a sanction or revocation of membership.

  The EAP does not make monetary awards, whether of costs, damages or compensation.   

• Can the EAP direct other State Parties to take specific actions?

  No. The EAP panel’s jurisdiction is confined to internal disputes under The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England.

• Can I appeal the decisions of the EAP?

  As stated above, the Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, Article 9.8, states that the rulings of the EAP are final and binding, subject to any right of appeal under the Federal Constitution.

  You need to wait until after the EAP case concludes before you appeal to FAP.

• Why am I required to go to the EAP before FAP?

  Article 22.3(e) of the Federal Constitution does not permit cases to be adjudicated by the Federal Appeals Panel (FAP) until any appropriate appeals procedures established within a relevant State Party (in this case, EAP) have been exhausted. This limitation is also contained within the procedures of FAP procedures.

• When will FAP interfere with the decisions of EAP?

  The guidance about the FAP states when decisions will be interfered with, as follows:

  • There was a serious failure of process or reasoning that was likely to render the determination of the complaint unsafe or unsatisfactory in all the circumstances; or
  • Relevant evidence which was not available at the time of the determination of the complaint has since come to light, which is likely to render the determination of the complaint unsafe or unsatisfactory in all the circumstances; or
  • The sanction determined was manifestly excessive or manifestly lenient in all the circumstances.

  You can find more information on the FAP pages.

• Will the EAP publish detail of a case that I am involved in?

  Under The Constitution of The Liberal Democrats in England, Article 9.9, EAP are required to publish once a year a report containing all of its decisions on its interpretation of this Constitution since the previous report and a summary of each of its other rulings since the previous report. 

  Therefore, at the very least, your case will be included, in anonymised form, in the summary of rulings in that report. All summaries will also be published on the EAP website in anonymised form.

  Where your cases has resulted in an interpretation of the Constitution (in effect, a precedent) your case would be published in the report. These cases will also be published on the website because they act as precedent and publication will help other members bringing or responding to cases. Since this publication is public and likely to be more extensive, we will ask all parties to the case what details they would like to see redacted before the website publication. We seek to publish only those details that are helpful to other members.

  Publication of a case will not take place before the appeals deadline to FAP has passed, and the decision is final.