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Neutral Citation Number:
Reported Number:	R(IB)7/05
File Number:	CIB 3743 2004
Appellant:
Respondent:
Judge/Commissioner:	Judge E. A. L. Bano
Date Of Decision:	10/06/2005
Date Added:	11/07/2005
Main Category:	Incapacity benefits
Main Subcategory:	awt/pca: general
Secondary Category:
Secondary Subcategory:
Notes:	Incapacity for work - personal capability assessment - electronic medical report - whether signature required The claimant appealed against a supersession decision on his capacity for work following a medical examination by an approved doctor who produced an electronic IB85 report. The claimant challenged the validity of the report as evidence on the ground that it was not signed. The tribunal dismissed his appeal. The Commissioner granted leave to appeal in the light of the decision in CIB/3984/2004, where it was held that an unsigned electronic medical report which was challenged was only competent evidence if it was certified in accordance with section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000. Held dismissing the appeal, that: 1. there was no statutory requirement for an IB85 to be signed and the electronic IB85 did not purport to contain an electronic signature (paragraph 8); 2. in proceedings to which the strict rules of evidence apply, section 7 allows an electronic signature to be authenticated by means of a certificate in the prescribed form; however, it does not lay down a procedure which is to be used in every case where the authenticity of an electronic document or of electronic data is in dispute (paragraphs 9 and 10); 3. however, even assuming that the electronic form IB85 did contain an electronic signature, section 7 has no application to tribunals constituted under the Social Security Act 1998, since the strict rules of evidence do not apply to proceedings before those tribunals (paragraph 11).
Decision(s) to Download:	R(IB) 7_05 bv.doc