INTRODUCTION
Tribunal is a court or a forum of justice, or simply that decides or determines the tribunal of public opinion. In Law Tribunal can be defined as any court, judicial body, or board which has judicial or quasi-judicial. Tribunals or commissions also have the power to make decisions which are binding. Tribunals are less formal than courts and often provide a quicker and cheaper way of solving a legal dispute. NSW has a number of specialist tribunals that hear specific types of cases, for example, the Migration Review Tribunal.
ROLE OF TRIBUNAL
Tribunals generally have many of the features of courts, such as independence from the executive government, public hearings, a duty to decide disputes according to law and to give reasons for decisions. There is usually a right of appeal on a question of law to a court, such as the District court or the Supreme court.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRIBUNAL
There are tribunals for setting various administrative and tax-related disputes, including Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), National Green Tribunal (NGT), Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) and Securities.
TYPES OF TRIBUNALS
1.Central Administrative Tribunals
The Central Administration Tribunal was formed in 1985 for adjudication of disputes.
2.Customs and Excise Revenue Appellate Tribunal
This Tribunal was established in the year 1986 with the objective of adjudicating complaints or offences related to the customs and excise revenue.
The Appeals from the orders of this Custom and Excise tribunal lies with the Supreme Court of India.
3.Election Commission
Election Commission was formed with an objective for deciding matters related to the election in the year 1950. This Tribunal do the function of allotting election symbols to the parties and all the offence related to the election are handle by this Tribunal. The orders given by Election Commission can also be challenged in the Supreme Court of India.
4.Income-tax Appellate Tribunal
This Tribunal was formed in the year 1961 under the Income Tax Act. These Tribunals have many offices in various cities who deal with all the offences related to Income Tax. An appeal can be files in both the High Court and Supreme Court by an aggrieved person if an order is passed by the Commissioner or Director of income tax against that person.
5.Railway Rates Tribunal
This Tribunal was constituted in 1989 under the Indian Railway Act. This Tribunal solve all the matters related to the railway administration. These matters can be related to the unjust changes or low rates charged by the railway administration.
NEED OF TRIBUNAL
The Tribunals were set up to reduce the workload of courts and to provide a forum which would be maintained by lawyers and experts in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The tribunals perform an important and specialised role in justice mechanism. They hear disputes related to the environment, armed forces, tax and administrative issues.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRIBUNALS AND COURT
Tribunals operate formal processes to adjudicate disputes in a similar way to courts of law, but have different rules and procedures, and only operate in a specialized area.
In general, tribunals are less formal than the courts and people will often represent themselves without needing a solicitor, the tribunal chairman will usually take more time to explain the procedure and will ask more questions before making a decision.
The decisions of tribunal are legally binding and enforceable, they make decisions about employment disputes. There are no charges or fees involved in submitting an appeal to the tribunal.
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF TRIBUNALS
The Jurisdiction, Powers, and Authority of Tribunals is stated in Chapter III of the Act, and states that the Central Administrative Tribunal has all the jurisdiction, powers, and authority that all courts (except the Supreme Court) had before that day in relation to –
· Recruitment and matters relating to recruitment to any All-India Service or any civil service or post of the Union, including any defence post or service, which is filled by a civilian in either case;
· All service matters relating to a member of any All-India Service; or a person appointed to any Union civil service or civil post; or a civilian appointed to any defence services or a post related to security,
· All service matters pertaining to service in connection with the Union’s affairs concerning a person appointed to any service or post that has been put at the disposal of the Central Government by a State Government, any local or other authority, or any corporation, community, or other bodies.
Similarly, the State shall exercise control over recruitment and service matters relating to civil services or posts that fall under the jurisdiction of the State or any local or other authority that falls under the jurisdiction of the state government.
The Act specifies that, for the purposes of discharging its duties under the Act, the Tribunals would have the same powers as a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when the trial of a suit is pending in respect of the following matters:
i. Summoning and enforcing the attendance of individuals, as well as their oath test,
ii. The prerequisite for record discovery and development
iii. Obtaining affidavit proof
iv. The obtaining of any public record or paper, or a copy thereof, from any office, subject to Sections 123 and 124 of the Indian Proof Act, 1872.
v. Appointing committees to investigate witnesses or records,
vi. Reconsidering the choices
vii. Denial of representation due to default or an ex parte decision
viii. The termination of an order that has been dismissed or determined ex parte,
ix. Any other matters that the Central Government considers appropriate.
Author - Kiran Israni
2nd Year Student of BACL, Nagpur.
Content Writer at Legaleagle Law Forum