Re R

In the case of Re R, the matter was brought before the court by an appeal from the Mental Health Review Tribunal. The dispute involved the proper constitution of the Tribunal and its authority to make decisions regarding a community treatment order. The court was tasked with determining whether the Tribunal was constituted in accordance with the requirements set out in the Mental Health Regulation 2007, specifically whether it was constituted by three persons as mandated for such inquiries. Additionally, the court needed to consider whether the Tribunal's failure to adhere to this statutory procedure resulted in a constructive failure of the Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction under section 35 of the Mental Health Act 2007.

The court examined whether the Tribunal was properly constituted to determine the application for a community treatment order according to law. It was established that the Tribunal had not been constituted as required, resulting in a procedural defect. However, the court considered whether this defect was so fundamental that it rendered the entire proceeding null and void, or whether it could be rectified by a properly constituted Tribunal revisiting the application. The court held that the Tribunal's failure to adhere to the statutory procedure did not result in a constructive failure of jurisdiction, and the matter could be determined by a properly constituted Tribunal.

Ultimately, the court determined that the initial determination by the Tribunal was invalid due to the procedural defect, but this did not deprive the properly constituted Tribunal of its authority to make the decision. The court ordered that the application for a community treatment order be determined by a Tribunal properly constituted in accordance with the Mental Health Regulation 2007. The second defendant's actions were deemed appropriate and reasonable, resulting in no order for costs.