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The 'Adjudication Panel for England' is an independent judicial tribunal set up under the Local Government Act 2000. It is a Non-departmental public body which rules on complaints referred to it by the Standards Board for England regarding alleged breaches of English local authorities' codes of conduct by elected members of those authorities. It can impose a range of penalties, ranging from a reprimand to disqualification from holding elected office for up to five years.[1]

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Controversy

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Controversy

The Adjudication Panel came to prominence in February 2006 when it suspended Mayor of London Ken Livingstone from office for four weeks[2] following comments he made to ''Evening Standard'' journalist Oliver Finegold, which Finegold taped. The suspension attracted criticism from the media,[3] and from across the political spectrum including former mayoral candidates Steve Norris (Conservative) and Simon Hughes (Lib Dem) and was subject to a critical motion in the London Assembly [4] proposed by Damian Hockney (One London) and seconded by Darren Johnson (Green). The suspension was due to start on March 1, 2006, but the High Court stayed the suspension on February 28, pending an appeal by Livingstone. The appeal hearing started on October 4 [5] and on October 19 the judge, Mr Justice Collins, overturned the Panel's decision and said that it had misdirected itself. The suspension was quashed and full costs were awarded to Ken Livingstone [6].

See also

Standards Board for England

External links

★ Official website

★ BBC Online: What is the adjudication panel?