FAIR EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL

CASE REF:	  00217/02FET
1127/02

APPLICANT:	Carmel Rodgers

RESPONDENTS:	 1.  Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
			 2.  Mr McArdle
			 3.  Mrs McCool

DECISION ON AN APPLICATION FOR REVIEW
The application for review is refused as in my opinion it has no reasonable prospect of success.

1.	 At a hearing on 3 September 2004 the Fair Employment Tribunal dismissed a number of complaints brought by the applicant by virtue of Rule 4(8) of the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.  It had concluded that the applicant’s response to orders from the Tribunal was quite uninformative if not downright contemptuous.  She advanced no reason to show cause why her applications should not be struck out.  The applicant was allowed to continue with her complaint of unlawful discrimination on the grounds of religious belief despite a failure to respond to orders because the complaint of gender discrimination was unaffected by the orders of the Tribunal.

2.	The respondent sought costs of £1,000.  The Tribunal concluded that the conduct of the proceedings by the applicant was unreasonable and her blatant failure to obey the Tribunal’s orders resulted in a day long hearing.  Rightly or wrongly, the Tribunal did take into account the means of the applicant and made an award of £500.  The applicant’s response was to tell us that if she had the money, she would burn it before she would pay it.  

3.	The applicant now seeks to appeal against the award of costs having told the tribunal at the hearing that she regarded the Tribunal’s decision as otherwise fair.  The grounds of her appeal are –

(a)	the award was unjust as she had responded to the Tribunal’s orders even though deemed inadequate;

(b)	she was a lay person not well briefed in law; and

(c)	she had no income.

All of these matters were canvassed during the hearing and taken into account on reaching the decision to award £500.

They disclose no grounds for a review.  Accordingly I refuse the application as in my opinion it has no reasonable prospect of success.

______________________________________
J E MAGUIRE
President

22 September 2004