Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages and disadvantages of administrative tribunals are as follows:

Advantages
-The ordinary courts as at present constituted could not cope with the enormous number of cases now dealt with by administrative tribunals, and any attempt by them to do so would cause inordinate delays. Tribunals, therefore, help prevent delays, and their proceedings do not last so long.
-As a result, the cost of bringing a case before a tribunal is much less than the cost of proceedings in the ordinary courts.
-The tribunals are usually composed of experts in the matters with which they deal.
-Tribunals are not bound so rigidly by precedent as the ordinary courts, although they do aim to secure consistency in their decisions.
-The tribunals assist the efficient conduct of public administration and promote a policy of social improvement.
-Tribunals are usually local by nature, and can therefore acquaint themselves with local conditions and carry out inspections of property and sites (particularly in the case of the Lands Tribunal) where this will assist them in their decisions.

Disadvantages
The lack of publicity where hearings are in private and no reasons are given for decisions.
-The poor quality of investigation of facts where the rules of evidence are not observed.
-The possibility of political interference by the government preventing the tribunal from giving an impartial decision. There is, however, little or no evidence of this having ever occurred.
-The danger that important judicial functions may be exercised by unqualified persons.
-With the exception of the Lands Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, legal aid is not available for persons appearing before tribunals, and they may therefore not be properly represented. This applies particularly to bodies such as mental health review tribunals.
In November 1955 a Committee on Administrative Tribunals and Enquiries was established to consider the constitution and working of tribunals. The Committee reported as follows:
-The principles of openness, fairness, and impartiality had not always been manifest, but in general the tribunal system worked well.
-Proceedings should be given publicity, steps should be taken to ensure that people knew their rights and were able to present their cases properly, and tribunals should be free from outside influences, especially government influence.
-Tribunals are essential in modern society, but they should be demonstrably good reasons for setting up a tribunal, and in any case ultimate control should be exercised by the ordinary courts.
The position has been improved by the passing of the Tribunals and Inquiries Acts 1958 and 1966, now consolidated in the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971. These Acts provide for a Council on Tribunals, which keeps under review the working of certain tribunals, and reports to the Lord Chancellor on matters relevant to administrative tribunals which they may refer to him. The Lord Chancellor nominates the members of the Council, and the dismissal of members of certain tribunals can take place only with his approval, which gives the tribunals a great measure of independence. As has been seen from the examples of tribunals given above, there is very often a right of appeal from the decision of a tribunal to the High Court and in some cases even to higher courts, and all tribunals are subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court by means of the prerogative orders of certiorari, prohibition and mandamus.
All tribunals are also subject to the ultra vires doctrine, that is, any decision which they make or any action which they take must be within the powers conferred on them, or at least must be reasonably incidental to such powers. A person who is aggrieved by an ultra vires decision or action of a tribunal may appeal to the High Court for a declaration that the decision or activity is void.
It is now much more common than it used to be for tribunals to have public hearings and to allow people appearing before them to be legally represented, and the reports of inspectors who have conducted inquiries are very often made public.

See Also:
Tribunals