Appeals to the High Court by people unhappy with awards made by the hepatitis C compensation tribunal are being assessed and prioritised, the court was told yesterday.
Mr John Rogers SC, appearing on behalf of a number of appellants, said about five appeals would be ready to go on within the next month or six weeks.
Counsel said the rules governing appeals from the tribunal to the court had now been formulated. They were seeking to order cases by priority, and it would take time to assess each individual's case.
Five cases were ready to come on during the next month or six weeks although he could not specify those cases at this stage. A total of 14 cases were listed for hearing before the High Court in yesterday's Legal Diary.
When asked by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, how long each appeal might take, Mr Rogers said that would be very difficult to assess. Mr Justice Morris said if there was any appeal case ready for hearing next week, he would take it up.