It must be noted that an appeal must be submitted in accordance with these Guidance Notes within the required 30 calendar day timeframe. In the event that the Appellant is unable to file a completed appeal within the 30 calendar day timeframe, he or she should submit the appeal and supporting documents to the extent that they are able, with a covering letter detailing what information is lacking and why, and when it is expected to become available. The matter will be considered and the Appellant notified as to the timeframe the Commission has agreed in order to complete the submission.
Where a potential Appellant is engaged in discussion (generally of a without prejudice nature) with the potential Respondent, the right of appeal may be extended beyond the 30 day legal timeframe if the Appellant communicates with the Commission during that legal timeframe indicating that such discussions are ongoing and requests an extension. The Commission will allow up to 30 days for these discussions to progress.
Prior to the end of this extended timeframe (i.e. by the close of business on the 30th day if a 30 day extension was granted), the Appellant must communicate to the Commission whether additional time is being sought or whether the discussions have not resulted in a positive outcome and therefore they wish to proceed with the appeal.
In the event the Appellant wishes more time to engage in discussions, the Commission will consider this but a favourable decision should not be presumed. In the event the Appellant wishes to proceed with his or her appeal submission, or their request for an extension to continue discussions is refused, they will have 15 calendar days (from the end of the original extension) to submit a completed appeal submission.
A Notice of Appeal is not considered by the Commission to suffice in filing an appeal.
The responsibility for preparing and submitting an Appeal rests with the Appellant. However, an Appellant may seek assistance from a family member, friend, lawyer, CICSA representative or other person when preparing the Appeal submission.
In order to maintain their neutrality and independence, the Commission members and staff of the Commission Secretariat are not to assist an Appellant in preparing appeal documents.
As a general rule, the Appellant should complete the standard appeal form which is available either from the Commission office or online on the Commission’s website. Appeal submissions without the form will not be refused provided the Appellant provides the information requested in the form in a clear and concise alternative format. An appeal submission can be lodged with the Commission by mailing, emailing, hand delivering or faxing it to the Commission Secretariat offices.
An appeal must be in writing and be signed by the Appellant. It must contain the following information:
It is to be noted that once an appeal has been filed with the Commission, communication between an Appellant and a Respondent (that is the Head of the Civil Service, Chief Officer or Official Member whose decision the appeal is being lodged against) is prohibited, and as such, all communication is done via the Commission.
If the party acquires representation after an appeal or response has been lodged, then written notice of representation must be provided to the Commission. The Commission will inform the parties involved in writing, and at that juncture the Commission will communicate only with the representative(s).
Appellants may withdraw an appeal at any time before the Commission issues its decision i.e. either after it is lodged and before it is considered by the Commission; or after and before the Commission decision is issued. Appeals may be withdrawn by advising the Commission Secretariat in writing.
Appeals do not need to be withdrawn merely because an Appellant is leaving the Cayman Islands.
Following acceptance of the appeal, the Commission will then forward the Appeal Form and all supporting documentation submitted by the Appellant to the Chief Officer, Head of the Civil Service or Official Member against whose decision is being appealed indicating that the appeal has been accepted and therefore the Commission is now requesting that a considered response to the allegations be provided to the Commission within 10 calendar days.
The content of the considered response document is to be limited to the appeal concerned and is not to cover other matters relating to the Appellant unless they are relevant to the appeal. The response is not to include any allegation or make comments that have not previously been put formally to the Appellant. Information that the Chief Officer, Head of the Civil Service or Official Member may wish to provide in the considered response to the Commission include:
Following receipt of the considered response by the Chief Officer, Head of the Civil Service or Official Member, the Commission will forward the response received to the Appellant and provide them with five calendar days to answer any new information which has been raised in the response submission.
The Appellant may not provide the Commission with new information or raise new points during this part of the process. This means that the Appellant may only Respond to any points raised by the Chief Officer, Head of the Civil Service or Official Member which he or she had not already raised in his or her original appeal submission.
Once the follow-up response to any information raised in the Chief Officer’s response is received from the Appellant the Commission will again review the submissions and determine whether it requires further information which can only be gleaned from a Hearing or whether a determination can be made based on the information available.
It is noted that the Commission may, in its discretion, allow either the Appellant and/or the Respondent additional time in order to make a submission if the Commission accepts an explanation put forward as to why additional information is required to complete the submission and the efforts which have been made to obtain this information.