30 March 2010
Last updated 
Introduction
The Isle of Man is a self governing Crown dependent territory of the United Kingdom with a population of approximately 80,000. The Island enjoys constitutional independence from both Great Britain and the European Union. Being a Crown dependency, matters of foreign affairs and defence are the responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. The Island's own Parliament (Tynwald) legislates for the Isle of Man domestically and in some cases, but certainly not all, such legislation is similar to that passed in the United Kingdom.
The Isle of Man is not a member state of the European Union but has a relationship under a protocol agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU which restricts the operation of EU law to certain restricted matters such as customs and agriculture.
The Isle of Man has a different individual and corporate tax regime to that of the United Kingdom such that Manx residents enjoy lower taxation making it an attractive place to live and work and to do business in. There is a personal income tax cap and a zero rate corporate income tax regime. However the Isle of Man should not be considered a haven, its fiscal morality and anti-money laundering legislation are second to none. In the light of the Isle of Man's cooperation with a substantial number of other jurisdictions in relation to exchange of tax information, the Island was recently placed on the prestigious offshore white list drawn up by the G20 countries.
Dental practice in the Isle of Man
Dental practice in the Isle of Man is broadly similar to the framework found in the United Kingdom. The administering body charged with promoting a comprehensive health service for the Island is the Department of Health (as it is known from 1 April 2010 ("the DH"). Under the National Service Act 2001 of Tynwald, the DH is responsible for making arrangements with dental practitioners in the Isle of Man for services under the NHS to patients.
The Dental Act 1985 of Tynwald cross-references with the UK Dentists' Act 1984 (of Parliament) and has a number of provisions restricting the practice and business of dentistry in the Isle of Man.
The National Health Service (Isle of Man) (Service Committee's) Regulations 1954 were made under the National Health Service Act 1948 and save in relation to proceedings already underway as at 2001, the 1954 Regulations have been replaced by the regulations incorporated in the National Service Act 2001. Other relevant dental regulations in force in the Island are:
- The National Health Service (Dental Charges) Regulations 2006 (made under the National Health Service Act 2001). These regulations provide for the making and recovery of charges for the provision of dental treatment and the supply of dental appliances under the National Service Act 2001;
- The Dental Act 1985 (Amendment) Order 2006 which amends the Dental Act 1985 to reflect changes made in the regulation of the dental profession and professions complementary to dentistry in the United Kingdom by the Dentists' Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 2005 of Parliament;
- The National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 2005. These regulations make provision for general dental services under the National Health Service Act 2001 and contain the terms and conditions for general dental practitioners and salaried dentists, replacing the similarly named 1991 regulations;
- The National Health Service (Independent Review Body) Regulations 2004. These regulations made under the National Health Service Act 2001 set out the constitution for the independent review body which will review complaints about services provided under the National Health Service Act 2001 in accordance with the procedure within the NHS Complaints Regulations 2004.
Under section 7 of the National Health Service Act 2001, the DH shall maintain a list of persons undertaking to provide general dental services in the Isle of Man. As at May 2009, there are 29 dental practitioners on the DH list.
It should be noted that under the Control of Employment Act 1975 (as Amended) of Tynwald, persons who are not Isle of Man workers generally require a work permit before taking up employment in the Isle of Man but employment as a dentist is specifically listed as an exempted employment in schedule 1 of the 1975 Act.
It should also be noted that whereas there remains reciprocity as to free health care between the UK and the Isle of Man, this agreement is under review by the UK and Isle of Man governments.
Legal system
Civil claims in the Isle of Man are heard by the Isle of Man High Court which is a judiciary entirely separate from the legal jurisdictions from England and Wales, Scotland and elsewhere. Generally, in relation to clinical negligence proceedings, the Isle of Man law is similar to that of the UK.
In September 2009, a new set of civil procedure rules was introduced to the Isle of Man which are broadly based on the Civil Procedure Rules brought in under the Woolf reforms in England and Wales in the 1990s. It should be noted that the new Isle of Man Civil Procedure Rules are different to those of England and Wales but have many similar themes.
There is a right of appeal without leave from decisions of the Isle of Man High Court to the local appeal court called the Staff of Government Division. From the Staff of Government Division there is a right of appeal to the judicial committee of the Privy Council of the House of Lords in London such final appeal requiring leave of the court. Judgments of the Manx Courts are available online at http://www.judgments.im/. In relation to clinical negligence cases, the leading case in the Isle of Man is that of Arthur v DHSS (2008) relating to a hospital clinical negligence claim that was rejected by the Second Deemster (Judge) His Honour Deemster Doyle. In that case, the court made a number of observations about the standard of clinical care expected all of which are in line with the case law as to clinical negligence in the United Kingdom.
The Isle of Man has its own legislation as to limitation of action and data protection but in most of these areas the same general principles apply as in the UK.
Finally it should be noted that only Manx advocates have the right of audience and the right to conduct litigation in the Isle of Man. Thus a case involving the Isle of Man should not be handled by English solicitors particularly as the costs of doing so may not be recoverable in any future Isle of Man proceedings. It is permissible in certain restricted cases for a temporary advocate's licence to be issued to a suitably qualified person which can include a barrister from the UK, however such licensing is restricted generally to particularly complex or lengthy cases. In the Isle of Man a Manx advocate is both solicitor and barrister as the Island operates a fused bar. Local advocates are regulated by the Isle of Man Law Society. Dental Protection work for members in the Isle of Man is handled by the firm of Manx advocates M&P Legal (a business name of Mann & Partners) whose details are:
Telephone: 01624 695800
Out of hours: 07624 428889
Email: jta@mplegal.im or hkb@mplegal.im
Fax: 01624 695801
The advocate in charge of Dental Protection work is the M&P Legal joint managing director John Aycock.