Victims Compensation Fund Corporation v JM

The Victims Compensation Fund Corporation appealed to the Court of Appeal from an overturned decision of the Victims Compensation Tribunal. The Tribunal had found that 500 sexual assaults constituted "related acts" under section 6(3) and (4) of the *Victims Support and Rehabilitation Act*. The Corporation argued that the Tribunal had committed an error of law, rendering its decision wholly irrational and capricious, specifically by failing to adequately consider or give sufficient weight to the age and location of the assaults.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Victims Compensation Tribunal erred in law in its construction and application of the "related acts" provisions of the *Victims Support and Rehabilitation Act*. This involved determining whether the Tribunal's finding that the 500 sexual assaults were "related acts" was so irrational as to constitute an error of law, and whether it had failed to properly consider relevant factors such as the age and location of the incidents.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the Tribunal's statutory construction of "related acts" fell within its mandate and that the reasons provided by a tribunal should not be subjected to overly minute scrutiny for perceived error. The Court found that the Tribunal's decision was not wholly irrational or capricious. Consequently, the appeal was upheld, the prior overturning of the Tribunal's decision was set aside, and the original decision of the Tribunal was restored, with costs awarded to the Victims Compensation Fund Corporation.