The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple aims and is committed to ensuring that the scholarships scheme respects and meets the diverse needs of our applicants, panellists, committee members, Benchers and staff. The Inner Temple is committed to ensuring that no individual is placed at any disadvantage over any other, and that equal opportunities are promoted for all. The Inner Temple complies with, and takes account of, the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

This document has been assessed to ensure that no individual or group receives less favourable treatment on account of the protected characteristics of their age, disability, sex, gender reassignment and gender identity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief (including cogent philosophical belief), pregnancy and maternity.

The Inner Temple’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is also referenced and demonstrated by the following:

• Interview Guidelines for Panellists
• The Inner Temple Volunteer Code of Conduct
• The Inner Temple Equality and Diversity training for all Volunteers (mandatory training)

1. Introduction

1.1 The Inner Temple Scholarships Scheme aims to support those from all backgrounds seeking a career as a barrister, through offering scholarship grants to applicants who demonstrate excellence in meeting the Inner Temple’s scholarship criteria. We recognise potential and are committed to supporting open access to the Bar. The Inner Temple’s scholarship programme contributes to this Inn’s aim to develop an inclusive and diverse legal community, whose members are representative of the people it serves.

1.2 The Inner Temple Internship Awards Scheme aims to support members to pursue projects that will widen their experience of the world outside the Bar.

1.3 The Inner Temple Disability Award aims to assist students with a disability to support a parity of educational experience by covering some of the associated additional costs.

1.4 Scholarship and award applicants are assessed through a combination of application form and interview. Information regarding assessment processes for each scheme can be found on the webpage for each respective scheme.

1.5 The selection process aims to be transparent, fair and not discriminatory. Decisions about who will be awarded a scholarship are made following procedures which reflect relevant legislation and good practice.

1.6 The PASS scheme supports high achieving aspiring barristers from under-represented backgrounds.

1.7 PASS, scholarship and award applicants are assessed through a combination of application form and interview. Information regarding assessment processes for each scheme can be found on the webpage for each respective scheme.

1.8 The selection process aims to be transparent, fair and not discriminatory. Decisions about who will be awarded a scholarship are made following procedures which reflect relevant legislation and good practice.

3. Circumstances in which an appeal can be made

3.1. An individual applicant can only appeal the following within this appeal process:  

• any decision not to award a scholarship and/or
• any failure to follow, or follow correctly, published processes or procedures related to the assessment of the stated criteria, individually or collectively.

4. What is excluded from the appeals process?

4.1. An applicant cannot appeal where:

• they have not attended the interview;
• they disagree with any of the objective judgements that have been made by the interview panel;
• they allege unfairness of practice and/or process but not supplying evidence to substantiate the allegation;
• they make an anonymous appeal or an appeal is sent on behalf of an applicant unless there are exceptional reasons for this: for example, if the applicant is physically incapacitated for the entire 28-day appeal period and is physically unable to draft and lodge an appeal. In such circumstances, the individual lodging the appeal on behalf of the applicant must provide a full explanation, supported by evidence, of why the applicant cannot directly lodge an appeal themselves and why an appeal must accordingly be lodged on their behalf.

5. Complaints versus appeals

5.1. An appeal is a challenge or request for reconsideration of an outcome decision, whereas a complaint is a statement of dissatisfaction about something that has happened, or not happened, or the standard of a service.

5.2. Examples of complaints that relate to selection processes include:

• Incorrect or untimely information provided by the Inn.
• Concerns about the conduct of staff or volunteers not involved in the decision-making process.
• Concerns about the administration of the process.

5.3.  Occasionally both appeals and complaints processes are relevant to a situation. In this situation, the E&T Team will work with the applicant to determine whether it is better to use one process after the other (and in what order), to run them at the same time, or to apply the processes more flexibly. Where the Inner Temple decides to vary its normal procedures, it will discuss this with the applicant. Records will always be kept stating when a procedure was not followed.

6. Time Limits and Constitution of the Appeal

6.1. Any appeal must be made, properly constituted, and lodged within 28 calendar days (including weekends, bank holidays and all other public and religious holidays) of the application decision being released.

6.2. The appeal must be submitted to scholarships@innertemple.org.uk, and must copy in the current Director of Education at the Inner Temple - education@innertemple.org.uk .  The appeal should include “Appeal” in the header of the email and should be marked for the attention of the Chair of the S&O Committee. Any appeal sent to an erroneous email address will not be deemed to have been lodged within time or properly constituted.

6.3. The appeal must be properly constituted, with all of the following information and documents being provided.

• The ground(s) of appeal. These must be clear and must relate directly to the circumstances set out at paragraph 3.1 of this Policy. The applicant must make it clear which sub-category(s) of paragraph 3.1 above the appeal ground(s) relate to and must clearly state:
  1. 1. what decision is being challenged;
     2. why the decision is wrong/incorrect/unfair;
     3. the specific alleged procedural error, irregularity or omission;
     4. whether there are any relevant witnesses, the identity of any witness and the specific issue within the appeal to which they are a witness; and
     5. the desired outcome of the appeal.
• Where paragraph 4.1.(d) of this Policy applies, all of the information required in that paragraph.
• Where appropriate, the name of the individual(s) involved or implicated in the assessment decision that is the subject-matter of the complaint.
• The date of the interview or other event that forms the subject matter of the appeal.
• Any supporting evidence.

6.4. Any appeal that that fails to comply with all of the steps at paragraphs 6.2 and 6.3 of this policy, or that falls outside the scope and grounds of paragraph 3.1 of this policy, will be deemed as not properly constituted. Any appeal that is not properly constituted will not be accepted and will accordingly not comply with the time limit at paragraph 8 of this Policy.

6.5. The grounds of appeal cannot be amended or supplemented after the expiry of the 28-day period to submit the appeal. However, an applicant can withdraw any grounds of appeal at any point after submitting an appeal and prior to the Inner Temple making a final determination on the appeal.

7. Process when an appeal has been submitted

7.1. Once an appeal has been lodged, a member of staff from the E&T team will acknowledge receipt of the appeal by email. Such acknowledgment should not be taken as any confirmation or affirmation that the appeal has been received within time and/or is properly constituted.

7.2. The Chair of the S&O Committee will inform the applicant whether the appeal has been lodged within time within 7 days of receipt of the appeal.

8. Appeals submitted out of time

8.1.In the event that an appeal has not been lodged within time, the Chair of the S&O Committee will provide a brief reason as to why the appeal is out of time or not properly constituted (and therefore out of time).

8.2. The Chair of the S&O Committee is under no obligation to provide any detailed reasons or evidence as to why the appeal is deemed to be out of time and/or not properly constituted, beyond the brief reason referred to in paragraph 8.1 above.

8.3. In the event that an appeal is out of time, the Chair of the S&O Committee has discretion to extend the time limit for lodging the appeal. However:

• Such discretion will only be exercised in exceptional circumstances (including but not limited to, medical emergencies, the applicant suffering from a physical or mental impairment during the 28-day appeal period that prevented the applicant from making, or properly drafting, their complaint);
• In the event that an applicant wishes the Chair of the S&O Committee to exercise discretion to extend time, an application must be made to the Chair of the S&O Committee within 7 Calendar days of being informed that their appeal is out of time;
• Such application must include full reasons why the appeal was lodged out of time and/or not properly constituted and must include any supporting evidence;
• The Chair of the S&O Committee will communicate the decision whether to extend or refuse to extend time to the applicant with brief reasons. There is no obligation on the Chair of the S&O Committee to provide detailed reasons.

9. Appeals falling within Exclusions from the Policy

9.1. In the event that the appeal falls within the Exclusions from the Policy, as set out within the Definitions of this Policy, the Chair of the S&O Committee will inform the applicant of this and direct them to the relevant department, body or organisation to whom the complaint should properly be submitted.

10. Appeals submitted within time: Investigation

10.1. The Chair of the S&O Committee will review the contents of the appeal and the Grounds of the Appeal and appoint an Investigating Officer to investigate it. The Investigating Officer:

• will be an experienced panellist for the Inner Temple scholarship interviews;
• will not have been involved in assessing the application of the applicant appealing, and will not have played any part in the decision process that is the subject of appeal;
• where possible, will be a member of the S&O Committee.

In exceptional circumstances, and where it is necessary and appropriate, the Chair of the S&O Committee may appoint an investigating officer who is a member of another Inn of Court. In the event that this is required, such investigating officer will be an experienced scholarship interview panellist within their Inn.

10.2. The Terms of Reference of any investigation will be the grounds of appeal. The Chair of the S&O Committee alone has the discretion to amend or supplement the Terms of Reference.

10.3. The Investigating Officer will conduct the investigation in the manner in which they deem appropriate, and review any evidence they deem to be relevant at their discretion. This may include contacting the applicant for further information.

10.4. The Investigating Officer will provide their report to the Chair of the S&O Committee within 28 days of being appointed. In the event that this deadline cannot be complied with, the Investigating Officer will inform the Chair of the S&O Committee of this delay in advance, will provide reasons for the delay and a revised deadline. In such circumstances, the Investigating Officer will ensure that in any event, the investigation is completed in a timely manner and within a reasonable period after the expiry of the 28 days. The Chair of the S&O Committee will inform the applicant of any delays in the investigation process and will provide them with any revised deadlines, where appropriate.

10.5. The Investigating Officer will produce a written report to the Chair of the S&O Committee. Within that report, the Investigating Officer will:

• list the evidence reviewed and the names of all individuals who have participated in the investigation;
• append all of the evidence reviewed and contents of individual consultations and any relevant documents to the report;
• make findings in respect of each of the grounds of appeal, setting out the reasons for those findings. The findings open to the Investigation Officer on the grounds of appeal are: Upheld, Partially Upheld and Not Upheld;
• make findings in respect of the applicant’s desired outcome, including whether it is justified and achievable.

11. Appeal Outcome

11.1. The Chair of the S&O Committee will review the Investigating Officer’s report and will make the final determination on the appeal. In respect of the Investigating Officer’s finding and recommendations, the Chair of the S&O Committee has the discretion and authority to:

• accept them in full;
• accept them in part, in which event the Chair of the S&O Committee must clearly set out full written reasons why the report findings and recommendations are only accepted in part; or.
• reject them in full in which event the Chair of the S&O Committee must set out full written reasons why the report findings and recommendations are rejected.

11.2. The Chair of the S&O Committee will communicate the decision on the appeal in writing to the applicant, within 14 days of receipt of the Investigating Officer’s Report. The decision will set out the findings in respect of each ground of appeal and the reasons and the overall outcome.

11.3. The decision of the Chair of the S&O Committee is final and there is no further right of appeal.

12. Confidentiality

12.1. The Chair of the S&O Committee must ensure that the confidentiality and privacy of all individuals and sensitive information is respected and protected in line with the Inner Temple’s Data Protection Policy. Accordingly:

• the Chair of the S&O Committee is under no obligation to provide a copy of the investigation report to the applicant but may do so at their sole discretion.
• in the event the report is provided, the applicant must keep it confidential and is not permitted to share the report with any other individual or organisation, unless expressly authorised to do so by the Chair of the S&O Committee; and
• the Inner Temple reserves the right to anonymise names and redact any information within the investigation report on the grounds of confidentiality, data protection or privilege.

12.2. All information received with regards to an appeal will be treated confidentially and in compliance with data protection legislation. Whilst the privacy and confidentiality of the applicant will be prioritised and protected, the Inner Temple may need to share some identifiable information to ensure that the investigation is conducted thoroughly, properly and fairly. No identifiable information in respect of any individual will be disclosed or shared unnecessarily.

12.3. The Chair of the S&O Committee and/or the Inner Temple may also share an anonymised summary of the outcome of the appeal with relevant members of the S&O Committee, E&T staff or any other relevant committee of the Inner Temple, as part of improving its systems and processes for the future, and/or as part of its reporting duties or in compliance with any legal or other requirements.