
1 

(1) This Order, which may be called the Pensions
Appeal Tribunals (Posthumous Appeals) Order 1980, shall come into operation
on 1st September 1980 immediately after the 
Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions
Amendment Order 1980 and the 
Personal Injuries (Civilians) Amendment Scheme 1980
come into operation.
(2) In this Order, unless the context otherwise
requires—
 “the Act”
means the Pensions Appeal
Tribunals Act 1943;
 “the Civilians Scheme”
 means the 
Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1976
 “the designated person”
 has the meaning assigned to it in article 67A(1)(b)
and (2) of the 
Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions
Order 1978, or, as the case may be, 
article 76A(1)(b) and (2)
of the Civilians Scheme;

 “the Pensions Order”
 means the 
Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions
Order 1978;
 “the President of the Pensions
Appeal Tribunals” means the person
appointed by the Lord Chancellor to be President of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals;

 “the Secretary of State”
 means the Secretary of State for Social
Services;and other expressions have the same meaning as in the Act.
(3) For the purposes of this Order a person
shall be treated as not having been notified of a decision (or given notification
of it) unless notice of the decision has been received by him, and for that
purpose unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that such notice has not
in fact been so received, such notice shall be treated as so received in due
course of post if it was sent by post to that person and addressed to him
at his ordinary or last known address.
2 
The Act shall be modified in accordance with the following provisions
of this Order and subject thereto references in the Act to the claimant and
the appellant shall, unless the context otherwise requires, include a reference
to the designated person.
3 

(1) Where the decision by the Secretary of
State of a claim for an award under an instrument mentioned in 
section 1, 2 or 
3 of the Act (appeals to Pensions Appeal Tribunals
on entitlement questions) has not been notified to the claimant before his
death—
(a) the Secretary of State shall, on becoming
aware of that death and the existence and identity of the designated person,
notify that person of the decision; and
(b) the designated person may, subject to
the following provisions of this Order, bring an appeal under 
section 1, 2 or
as the case may be, 3 of
the Act against that decision.
(2) Where the decision by the Secretary of
State of such a claim has been notified to the claimant in his life time but
the claimant has not appealed against that decision before his death, the
designated person may, subject to the following provisions of this Order,
bring an appeal under the said section 1, 
2 or, as the case may be, 3
as though brought on behalf of the appellant and, without prejudice to the
application of article 67A(5)
of the Pensions Order or, as the case may be, 
article 76A(5) of the Civilians Scheme
 (no award in respect of any period following
date of claimant's death), as though the claimant had not died.
4 

(1) Where the claimant has appealed to the
Pensions Appeal Tribunal against the rejection of his claim by the Secretary
of State and the decision of that Tribunal has not been communicated to him
before his death, the Secretary of State shall, within the period of seven
days of the communication to him of that Tribunal's decision, or within the
period of seven days of his becoming aware of the claimant's death and the
existence and identity of the designated person, whichever period ends later,
communicate that decision in writing to the designated person by sending it
by post to that person's ordinary or last known address, and the designated
person may, subject to the following provisions of this Order, bring an appeal
to the High Court under section 6(2)
of the Act.
(2) Where the claimant has appealed to the
Pensions Appeal Tribunal as aforesaid and the decision of that Tribunal has
been communicated to him and he has not appealed against that decision in
his life time, the designated person may, subject to the following provisions
of this Order, and subject in particular to one of the conditions specified
in paragraph (3)
below being satisfied, bring an appeal against that decision to the High Court
under the said section 6(2).

(3) The conditions referred to in 
paragraph (2) above are that—
(a) throughout the period from the communication
of the Tribunal's decision to the claimant to the date of his death, the claimant
was incapable of bringing an appeal by reason of his physical or mental condition;
or
(b) the failure of the claimant to bring
an appeal was due to an error or misdirection by or on behalf of the Secretary
of State or a Pensions Appeal Tribunal.
5 
Where a claimant dies after an appeal under 
section 1, 2, 
3, 5 or, as the
case may be, 6 of the Act
has been brought, but before decision of the appeal has been given, the designated
person may, subject to the following provisions of this Order, continue the
appeal in place of the claimant.
6 
Any appeal brought or, as the case may be, continued under 
article 3, 4 or,
as the case may be, 5 of
this Order shall be subject to directions given by the President of the Pensions
Appeal Tribunals or, as the case may be, the judge of the High Court nominated
by the Lord Chancellor in accordance with section
6(2) of the Act, in relation to the conduct
of the appeal, and the President or the judge may direct that the designated
person may bring or continue the appeal notwithstanding that no probate or
letters of administration have been granted.
7 
The reference to an appeal in paragraph
(a) of section 6(2A) of the Act (joint applications
following decisions by Pensions Appeal Tribunals), in so far as that section
applies to sections 1, 2 and 3
thereof (appeals to Pensions Appeal Tribunals), shall be construed as including,
as may be appropriate, an appeal brought or continued by the designated person
under this Order.
8 

(1) For the purposes of any award by the
Secretary of State implementing a decision of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal
in any appeal under article 3(1)
above or an order of the High Court on an appeal from that decision, 
article 65 of the Pensions Order or, as the
case may be, article 74 of
the Civilians Scheme shall
apply—
(a) in the case of the said 
article 65 as if the references in heads (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b)
of that article to the date of the notification of the rejection of the claim
were references to the date of the notification of such rejection to the designated
person;
(b) in the case of the said 
article 74 as if the reference in 
head (i) of paragraph (b) of that article to
the date of the notification of the rejection of the claim was a reference
to the date of the notification of such rejection to the designated person;

(2) For the purposes of any award by the
Secretary of State implementing such a decision in any appeal under 
article 3(2) above or an order of the High
Court on an appeal from such decision, the said 
article 65 or, as the case may be, the said 
article 74 shall apply—
(a) in the case of the said 
article 65 as if the references in heads (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b)
of that article to six months of the date of the notification of the rejection
of the claim and to three months of such notification were references to six
months from the date of the claimant's death;
(b) in the case of the said 
article 74 as if the reference in 
head (i) of paragraph (b) of that article to
three months of the date of the notification of the rejection of the claim
was a reference to six months from the date of the claimant's death;provided that the claimant died within six months or,
as the case may be, three months of the date of such notification.
9 

(1) The provisions of this Order shall not
apply in relation to any claimant who died before the date on which this Order
comes into operation.
(2) No appeal shall be brought by virtue
of this Order unless it is brought within three years of the date of the claimant's
death.
10 
This Order in its application to Scotland shall have effect subject
to the following modifications—
(a) for references to the High Court there
shall be substituted references to the Court of Session;
(b) for references to a judge of the High
Court nominated by the Lord Chancellor there shall be substituted references
to the Court of Session;
(c) for references to the Lord Chancellor
there shall be substituted references to the Lord President of the Court of
Session;
(d) for references to probate or letters
of administration there shall be substituted references to confirmation; and

(e) for references to the President of the
Pensions Appeal Tribunals there shall be substituted references to the President
as appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session to be President
of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals.
11 
This Order in its application to Northern Ireland shall have effect
subject to the following modifications—
(a) for references to the High Court there
shall be substituted references to the Court of Appeal;
(b) for references to a judge of the High
Court nominated by the Lord Chancellor there shall be substituted references
to the Court of Appeal;
(c) for references to the Lord Chancellor
there shall be substituted references to the Lord Chief Justice of Northern
Ireland; and
(d) for references to the President of the
Pensions Appeals Tribunals there shall be substituted references to the Chairman
appointed by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.
N.E. Leigh
Clerk of the Privy Council
