Background

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel for Northern Ireland (CICAPNI) is part of a new tariff based system for dealing with claims for compensation introduced from 1 May 2002 by the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2002.

The Panel is a non-statutory tribunal with 21 Panel Members, including the Chairman, with its headquarters in Belfast. The Office is administered and funded by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service which is an Agency of the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. It operates independently of the Compensation Agency.

The Panel's role is to determine appeals against reviewed decisions made by the Compensation Agency arising from claims for criminal injuries compensation for incidents that occurred on and after 1 May 2002.

Schemes for the payment of compensation to the victims of crimes of violence have been in existence in Northern Ireland for over 30 years. For all incidents happening before 1 May 2002 claims for compensation made to the Compensation Agency are dealt with under either the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) Order (Northern Ireland) 1988, the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) Order (Northern Ireland) 1977 or the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) Order (Northern Ireland) 1968 and payment is made on the basis of common law damages. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Agency will continue to administer the old Schemes in parallel with the new Scheme in order to resolve outstanding claims for compensation made before 1 May 2002. Appeals under the old Schemes will continue to be dealt with by the County Court for the foreseeable future.

The new Schemes makes changes to both the administration and the substance of compensation for criminal injuries. The most significant are that payments, which were formally made on an ex-gratia basis, are now made as of right; a victim's general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenity have been replaced by a tariff of awards; and the entitlement to and amount of awards are now assessed by claims officers, who are civil servants employed by the Agency. The rules as to eligibility for an award generally remain unaltered.

Injuries sustained after the 1st April 2009 will fall under the Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2009

back to the top of the page

Chairman and Panel Members CV's

Below are the names and some background information on the Chairman and Panel Members of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel for Northern Ireland.

Chairman

Mr Oliver Loughran BA is a Solicitor and senior partner in his own legal practice. He is also a member of the Law Society where he served on the Council for three years. He is a past President of the Omagh Rotary Club.

Panel Members

Mr John Baxter is a former senior partner in a private law practice in Coleraine and a member of the Law Society's Practice Advisory Service. He has held a number of previous public appointments in the past and is presently the Deputy Coroner for North Antrim and a member of the Council of the University of Ulster.

Mr Harry Black is a self-employed barrister. He has over 20 years experience of appearing for clients in the Northern Ireland Courts, mostly in matters of criminal law, personal injury litigation and criminal injury appeals. He is also a part-time, legally qualified member of the Appeals Service of Northern Ireland and regularly sits on panels adjudicating in matters of Social Security.

Mr John Duffy has over 20 years experience as a Solicitor in private general practice. He has been a member of the Law Society's Children Order Panel. He is a Chairman of Social Security and Disability Appeal Tribunals.

Mr Francis Farrelly is a self-employed Barrister at Law practising in general civil and criminal work. He is a part-time Chairman of a Social Security Appeals Panel.

Dr Ronald Galloway was Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Director at Craigavon/Banbridge Community HSS Trust prior to his retirement. He is presently a Medical Member of the Mental Health Commission and transitional Member of the Life Sentence Review Commissioners.

Mrs Frances Gawn was a nurse, midwife and health visitor who has had experience in the statutory voluntary and private sectors both in Northern Ireland and England. Has been a member of numerous working groups both locally and nationally and a campaigner for service standards.

Mr Robert Hall, OBE QGM MA MCIPD is a retired senior police officer. He lives in Co Antrim and is currently working as a training consultant nationally.

Mr Kenneth Harper is a retired senior Fire Officer. He served as Deputy Chief Officer in the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade and as National Commander of the New Zealand Fire Service. He is a Winston Churchill Fellow and a Member of the institution of Fire Engineers. He is currently a member of The Fire Authority for Northern Ireland.

Mr Thomas Haverty M Sc was employed by the Western Health and Social Services Board, holding the posts of District Social Services Officer, Assistant Director of Social Services, and Service Planner. He is currently a Commissioner - Equality Commission, and was formerly a member of the Advisory Committee on Travellers and The Central Personal Social Services Advisory Committee.

Mr Patrick Killen is a former Chief Executive of the Tyrone Crystal group of companies and had in-depth experience of industry in all its complexities. He is now an independent Management Consultant and has served on various Boards in the Public, Private and Voluntary sectors. He serves as Chairman of the Northern Ireland Citizens Charter Panel and was also a Judge in the UK wide Charter Mark Award Scheme.

Mr Con McAlister is a self-employed Solicitor. He holds a number of other public appointments including, part-time Chairman of the Appeals Service of Northern Ireland, part-time President of the Mental Health Review Tribunal, Deputy Chairman of the Central Service Agency's Discipline Committees.

Mrs Anna McCabe OBE has spent her career within the clinical and managerial fields of nursing, and formerly was a Director of Nursing at Belfast City Hospital Trust.

Professor John McClure is a Procter Professor of Pathology in the University of Manchester Medical School and Consultant Histopathologist to the Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust. In addition to practising hospital laboratory medicine he is interested in medicolegal matters and is qualified in forensic medicine.

Mrs Patricia McKaigue qualified as a Solicitor in 1983 and lives in Belfast. She has worked both the private and public sectors.

Dr Robin McKee is a practising General Practitioner and the Medical Director for North and West Belfast HSS Trust in the Community. He has extensive experience in both Disability and Social Security Appeals Panel.

Professor Cowan Meban was a member of the Faculty of Medicine in Queen's University of Belfast and a consultant in the Royal Group of Hospitals. In addition, he gave lectures on behalf of the Northern Ireland Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education. He currently works for the Medical School at Queen's on a part-time basis.

Mrs Elizabeth Monaghan is a practising Solicitor and a member of the Western Health and Social Services Board Discipline Committee.

Mr David Moore is an early-retired lecturer in Law at the Queen's University of Belfast. He is General Commissioner of Income Tax, Ards and Newry Division and is a Member of the Youth Court and Family Proceedings Court, Fermanagh and Tyrone Division. He is a Member of the Agriculture Appeals Panel, Northern Ireland and a former Chairman of the Housing Benefit Review Board, Western Area. He is also a Member of the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland and, since 1999, has been Chairman of the Northern Ireland Water Council.

Mrs Catherine Phillips is a member of the Faculty of Advocates. She specialises in Child and Family and Criminal Law and she holds other part-time judicial appointments as Immigration Adjudicator, Chairman of Social Security Appeals Tribunal and Stipendiary Magistrate.

Professor Herbert Wallace OBE is Professor Emeritus at the Queen's University of Belfast where he previously held the Chair of Property Law and was Dean of the Faculty of Law. A former Vice-Chairman, and sometime Chief Executive, of the Police Authority, he currently serves as a Life Sentence Review Commissioner for Northern Ireland.

back to the top of the page