IADB

16.1 There shall be an Independent Appeals & Disciplinary Board, referred to herein as “the IADB”, which shall be the final tribunal of appeal within the Union and the ultimate judicial authority of the Union. The IADB shall be the final interpreter of this Constitution.

16.2 The membership of the IADB shall comprise:

(i) Two former sabbatical officers of the Union (at least one of whom is a former President) who are no longer members of the Union or the Board of Directors;

(ii) A lawyer who is independent of the Union, who shall be a practising solicitor or barrister; and

(iii) Two former members of the Union who are not current members of the Board of Directors and who have not been members of the Union for at least 3 years.

16.3 At least two members of the IADB shall be female, but a male alternate member may take the place of a female member in accordance with this Article.

16.4 Membership of the IADB shall be upon the nomination of the President, subject to ratification by Union Council. Membership of the IADB shall be for a term of 3 years from the date of ratification by Council of the individual member in question. There shall be no limit to the number of terms for which an individual may be a member of the IADB.

16.5 The IADB shall elect from its membership a Chairperson and a Secretary. The positions of Chairperson and Secretary of the IADB may not be held by the same individual.

16.6 The contact details of the Chairperson and Secretary shall be available on the Union website unless they nominate another officer or employee of the Union to accept receipt of appeals on their behalf. The IADB shall make available an email address and/or other appropriate means for the submission of appeals on a dedicated IADB section of the Union website. The IADB may require appeals to be lodged in a particular format.

16.7 There shall be a minimum quorum of 3 members or alternate members for any meeting of the IADB.

16.8 The IADB shall meet as soon as practicable following the first meeting of Union Council in each academic year to nominate a list of alternate members of the IADB. Where a member of the IADB does not attend a meeting of the IADB, the other members of the IADB may choose one of the alternate members to take the place of that member for the meeting in question. Where an alternate member is to sit as a member of the IADB, they must satisfy the same criteria for appointment as the member of the IADB who they are temporarily replacing, other than as provided for in Article 16.3.

16.9 Subject to this Constitution, and to the principles of natural justice and the general rule of law, and for the general good of the Union, the IADB shall decide its own rules and procedures. The IADB shall decide in the case of each individual appeal whether the hearing of the appeal is to proceed on the basis of written submissions only or by way of oral hearing having received written submissions in advance of the oral hearing. Meetings and hearings may be conducted by means of electronic communication. The natural justice principles of nemo iudex in causa sua and audi alteram partem shall apply in the consideration of all appeals.

16.10 Each appeal shall be provided in writing to the Secretary of the IADB in sufficient detail so as to allow for a preliminary examination to be conducted in accordance with Article 16.11.

16.11 Save where otherwise provided for in this Article, a preliminary examination shall be conducted in respect of each appeal as follows:

(i) The Secretary shall transmit each appeal to the chairperson of the IADB having given the respondent to the appeal two clear working days in which to submit a preliminary statement of opposition.

(ii) The Chairperson shall examine the appeal and the preliminary statement of opposition, if any, and make a preliminary judgement within two working days of the conclusion of the period permitted for submission of the preliminary statement of opposition, as to whether the matters raised in the appeal require the appeal to proceed.

(iii) If the Chairperson decides that the matters complained of are immaterial, that the matters raised are not within the jurisdiction of the IADB or that the appeal is without merit, that decision and the reasons for that decision shall be communicated to the other members of the IADB. Otherwise the appeal shall proceed in accordance with this Article.

(iv) If one or more members of the IADB indicate within three working days that they are of the opinion that the matters raised in the appeal require the appeal to proceed, the appeal shall proceed in accordance with this Article; otherwise, the appeal shall be dismissed.

(v) The Secretary shall inform the parties to the appeal and the President of the decision made in respect of the preliminary examination.

16.12 If an appeal is to proceed, a meeting of the IADB will be convened by the Secretary; such a meeting shall take place within ten working days of the decision that the appeal is to proceed.

16.13 The Chairperson shall set out a timetable for the exchange of written submissions. The respondent to the appeal shall be afforded an opportunity to submit written submissions in opposition to the appeal and the written submissions of the appellant, and the appellant shall be afforded an opportunity to submit a reply to same. The Secretary shall also invite written submissions from the President and such other relevant parties to the appeal as the Chairperson or the IADB (having consulted the other members of the IADB) considers appropriate. Both the appellant and respondent shall be afforded an opportunity to make a written reply to any submission received from such a relevant party.

16.14 Where the Chairperson and Secretary, or a majority of the IADB, are of the opinion that the prompt disposal of an appeal is in the interests of justice or for another substantial reason, they may:

(i) Dispense with the requirement to conduct a preliminary examination of an appeal; and/or

(ii) Abridge or enlarge any time period or limit provided for in this Article provided always that the time limits for the lodging of an appeal may only be dispensed with in exceptional circumstances.

16.15 Should a situation not provided for in this Constitution arise, the IADB shall have the power to formulate and enforce such transitory or alternative provisions as it may consider necessary.

16.16 The IADB shall have the power to seek legal advice from the legal advisors to the Union (or independent legal advice) if the IADB considers it appropriate to do so, and the Union shall discharge the costs associated with this.

16.17 There shall be three categories of appeal, namely: Electoral Appeal; Formal Complaint and General Appeal.

16.18 An Electoral Appeal shall take place where a member or officer of the Union seeks to overturn the result of any election or referendum or to overturn any decision of the Returning Officers (or any one of them) in relation to an election or referendum. An Electoral Appeal must be made in writing to the Secretary of the IADB within 24 hours of the declaration of the result or the making of the decision in question, as the case may be.

16.19 A Formal Complaint shall take place where the President or an officer or organ of the Union makes a formal complaint about an officer of the Union in respect of the conduct or performance of the latter officer. A Formal Complaint shall be submitted to the IADB within a reasonable period of time and without undue delay.

16.20 The IADB may take such measures as it considers necessary to arrange for the matter to be conducted in accordance with the human resources procedures of the Union if it considers it appropriate to do so. The IADB may also refer a Formal Complaint to a process of mediation or conciliation, or suspend consideration of a Formal Complaint for a period of time, if it considers it appropriate to do so. The IADB may decline to consider a Formal Complaint where it considers the matter in question to be more appropriately dealt with within the democratic structures of the Union.

16.21 A General Appeal shall take place shall take place where any member or officer of the Union complains to the IADB about the actions or inactions in relation to their duties, as defined by the Constitution, of any officer or organ of the Union, or asserts that any decision, action or inaction of any officer or organ of the Union is in breach of the provisions of this Constitution, other than in a form constituting an Electoral Appeal, or a Formal Complaint. A General Appeal must be made in writing to the Secretary of the IADB within 3 days of the relevant decision, action or inaction being published or made publicly known by the officer or organ of the Union in question.

16.22 If the IADB concludes that any decision, action or inaction of any officer or organ of the Union is in breach of the provisions of this Constitution, or that the actions or inactions in relation to their duties, as defined by the Constitution, of any officer or organ of the Union are inconsistent with this Constitution, the IADB shall declare the relevant decision, action or inaction to be ultra vires and cause the it to be rescinded, reversed and/or varied. The IADB may give such directions as it considers appropriate to remedy or otherwise resolve any such matter.

16.23 If the IADB upholds an appeal or Formal Complaint against any elected officer of the Union, it may impose penalties on such an officer. The penalties may include:

(i) A formal reprimand;

(ii) A deduction from the remuneration of such officer; and/or

(iii) Suspension with or without pay.

16.24 In relation to the conduct of an election or referendum, if the IADB considers it appropriate to do so, it may direct that:

(i) A candidate be excluded from the election;

(ii) Restrictions be placed on a candidate; and/or

(iii) That an election be postponed until a later time.

16.25 The Secretary of the IADB shall publish any decisions of the IADB (including reasons) on the dedicated IADB section of the Union Website where such a publication would not in the opinion of the IADB have potential legal or other consequences for the Union which countervail the benefit of such publication.

16.26 At all meetings of the IADB, the chairperson of the meeting shall have a deliberative and a casting vote.

16.27 Any dispute arising out of, or in connection with, this Constitution shall be exclusively determined by the IADB in accordance with this Article. A decision arrived at by the IADB shall be final and binding on the parties and no appeal shall lie therefrom.

The IADB is an independent tribunal which resolves appeals under the UCDSU Constitution.

It also has various other functions such as appointing the Chief Returning Officer who oversees elections, interpreting the Constitution and introducing measures to deal with unforeseen circumstances not dealt with in the Constitution.

The IADB is a formal dispute resolution body and can only consider matters which fall within its remit under the Constitution. It deals with three types of appeal: Electoral Appeals; Formal Complaints; and General Appeals.

An Electoral Appeal deals with an application to overturn the result of any election or referendum or to overturn a decision of the Returning Officers. An Electoral Appeal should be made within 24 hours of the declaration of the result or the making of the decision in question.

A Formal Complaint may only be made by the President or another officer or organ of the Union. A Formal Complaint is made about an officer of the Union in respect of their conduct or performance. A Formal Complaint should be submitted within a reasonable period of time and without undue delay.

A General Appeal take places where any member or officer of the Union complains to the IADB about the actions or inactions in relation to their duties, as defined by the Constitution, of any officer or organ of the Union, or asserts that any decision, action or inaction of any officer or organ of the Union is in breach of the provisions of the Constitution, other than in a form constituting an Electoral Appeal or Formal Complaint. A General Appeal should be made within 3 days of the relevant decision, action or inaction being published or made publicly known.

An appeal must be submitted in writing by email to iadb@ucdsu.ie in sufficient detail for it to undergo the preliminary examination process set out in the Union Constitution. It is important that the time limits summarised above are complied with.

The IADB can only deal with appeals which fall within the terms of the Union Constitution, so it is important that appeals clearly set out which provisions of the Constitution are being relied on by the person making the appeal. You can read the full constitution HERE

Generally, an appeal begins with a preliminary examination process. An appeal will not proceed beyond this stage if it is deemed to be without merit or if the IADB decides that the matters complained of are immaterial or not within the jurisdiction of the IADB.

​If the appeal proceeds beyond that stage, the Chairperson of the IADB will set out a timetable for the exchange of written submissions between the parties. The IADB will also decide whether the appeal will proceed on the basis of an oral hearing or written submissions only.

It is the policy of the IADB to request that supporting documentation (if any) is set out in a single, paginated PDF document with a table of contents and bookmarks if five or more documents are being referred to. If four or less documents are being referred to, they may be provided in individual PDF documents.

Any dispute arising out of, or in connection with, the Union Constitution will be exclusively determined by the IADB in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution. A decision of the IADB is final and binding on the parties.

UCDSU INDEPENDENT APPEALS AND DISIPLINARY BOARD

Reference No. 20/03

The Returning Officers

and

The Executive

Read Decision HERE

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UCDSU INDEPENDENT APPEALS AND DISIPLINARY BOARD

Reference No. 20/02

​The LGBTQ+ Coordinator Complainant

and

The Campaigns & Engagement Officer Respondent

Read Decision HERE

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UCDSU INDEPENDENT APPEALS AND DISIPLINARY BOARD

Reference No. 20/01

The Returning Officers Applicants

and

The President

Read Decision HERE

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UCDSU INDEPENDENT APPEALS AND DISCIPLINARY BOARD

Appeal No. 17/01

Barry Murphy, Niall Torris and Robert Sweeney

and

The Returning Officers

Read Decision HERE