Hello fellows! Hope you all are doing well. Today’s blog is about The Bill that was recently passed in Lok Sabha by voice vote I.e; Tribunal Law Reforms Act 2021.
As you all know, the President has promulgated the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, on April 4, 2021.
Important points:
- The Ordinance dissolves certain existing appellate bodies and transfers their appellate authority to other Judicial Bodies.
These acts include the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Customs Act, 1962, the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994, the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 and certain other Acts.
- The Ordinance also amends the Finance Act 2017.
- The government introduced the ordinance for improving the quality of Justice, But the ordinance also takes away few advantages associated with the Tribunals.
Key Amendments:
- The Chairperson and Members of the Tribunals will be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee.
- The term of office for the Chairperson of the tribunals will be of four years or till the attainment of the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.
- The ordinance empowers the Central Government to make rules for qualifications, appointment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal, and other terms and conditions of service of Members of Tribunals.
What are Tribunals?
The Tribunal is a quasi-judicial institution. They were set up to deal with problems such as resolving administrative or tax-related disputes.
As they were not a part of the Constitution. The Swaran Singh Committee recommended including Tribunals as a part of the Constitution. In addition, the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 provided constitutional status to Tribunals. Tribunals were placed under Part XIV-A. This part has only two articles:
- Article 323-A
- Article 323-B
| Article 323-A (Administrative Tribunals) | Article 323-B (Tribunals for other matters) |
| Parliament alone can establish these tribunals | Both Parliament and State Legislatures can establish these tribunals |
| Only one tribunal at the centre level and Only one for each state(or two or more states) | Government can establish the hierarchy of Tribunals. |
Need for the Tribunal Law Reform Act 2021 :
Lack of Independence: The Executive holds key positions in Tribunals and the government is the biggest litigant. So the cases might not be decided fairly. So, the ordinance by shifting the appeals to the Judiciary will enable a fair trial.
Poor Adjudication & Delay in Judgement: The 272nd Law Commission Report mentions the Tribunals such as Central Administrative Tribunals and others had a pendency of 2.5 Lakh cases. Combined with the Vacancy they cannot determine the appeals. So the ordinance is necessary.
Malfunctioning in the managing and administration of tribunals due to Non-uniformity across tribunals concerning service conditions, tenure of members, varying nodal ministries in charge of different tribunals.
So, with this, we came to an end of this detailed blog on the Tribunal Law Reform Act 2021. For more such informative & interesting blogs, stay tuned.
Thank you!
