Section 216

A court of inquiry shall consist of— as the Secretary of State thinks fit. a chairman and such other persons as the Secretary of State thinks fit to appoint, or one person appointed by the Secretary of State, A court may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its number. A court may conduct its inquiry in public or in private, at its discretion. The Secretary of State may make rules regulating the procedure of a court of inquiry, including rules as to summoning of witnesses, quorum, and the appointment of committees and enabling the court to call for such documents as the court may determine to be relevant to the subject-matter of the inquiry. A court of inquiry may, if and to such extent as may be authorised by rules under this section, by order require any person who appears to the court to have knowledge of the subject-matter of the inquiry— and the court may administer or authorise any person to administer an oath for that purpose. to supply (in writing or otherwise) such particulars in relation thereto as the court may require, and where necessary, to attend before the court and give evidence on oath; Provision shall be made by rules under this section with respect to the cases in which persons may appear by a relevant lawyer in proceedings before a court of inquiry, and except as provided by those rules no person shall be entitled to appear in any such proceedings by a relevant lawyer. In subsection (6) “relevant lawyer” means— a person who, for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007, is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the exercise of a right of audience or the conduct of litigation within the meaning of that Act, or an advocate or solicitor in Scotland.

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Source: legislation.gov.uk · retrieved 2026-09-04