Tribunals - UPSChub

Definition and Origin

Tribunal is a quasi-judicial institution that is set up to deal with problems such as resolving administrative or tax-related disputes. It performs a number of functions like adjudicating disputes, determining rights between contesting parties, making an administrative decision, reviewing an existing administrative decision and so forth.

A Tribunal, generally, is any person or institution having an authority to judge, adjudicate on, or to determine claims or disputes – whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.

Etymology

The term ‘Tribunal’ is derived from the word ‘Tribunes’, which means ‘Magistrates of the Classical Roman Republic’.
Tribunal is referred to as the office of the ‘Tribunes’ i.e., a Roman official under the monarchy and the republic with the function of protecting the citizen from arbitrary action by the aristocrat magistrates.

Need of Tribunal

To overcome the situation that arose due to the pendency of cases in various Courts, domestic tribunals and other Tribunals have been established under different Statutes.
Set up to reduce the workload of courts, to expedite decisions and to provide a forum which would be manned by lawyers and experts in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal.
They perform an important and specialised role in justice mechanism. They take a load off the already overburdened courts. They hear disputes related to the environment, armed forces, tax and administrative issues.

Constitutional Provisions

Tribunals were not part of the original constitution; it was incorporated in the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976.

Article 323-A

Deals with Administrative Tribunals.

Contemplates the establishment of tribunals for public service matters only.

Can be established only by Parliament.

Article 323-B

Deals with tribunals for other matters.

Can be established both by Parliament and state legislatures.

Matters under Article 323-B:

Taxation
Foreign exchange, import and export
Industrial and labour
Land reforms
Ceiling on urban property
Elections to Parliament and state legislatures
Food stuff
Rent and tenancy rights

Key Differences (323 A vs 323 B):

Subject Matter: 323 A is for public service matters only; 323 B is for other matters.
Authority: 323 A tribunals established only by Parliament; 323 B by both Parliament and State Legislatures.
Hierarchy: Under 323 A, only one tribunal for the Centre and one for each state (or two or more states) may be established (no hierarchy). Under 323 B, a hierarchy of tribunals may be created.

Article 262: The Indian Constitution provides a role for the Central government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding inter-state rivers that arise among the state/regional governments.

Tribunals in India

1. Administrative Tribunals

Set-up by an act of Parliament, Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. Originates from Article 323 A.

Adjudicates disputes/complaints regarding recruitment and conditions of service of public servants.

Types under Act 1985:

Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT): Established by Central Government.
State Administrative Tribunal: Established by Centre upon receipt of a request from State Government.
Joint Administrative Tribunal (JAT): For two or more states exercising powers for such states.

2. Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)

Set-up on 1 November 1985.
Jurisdiction: Service matters of Central Govt employees, UTs, local govts, or corporations controlled by Central Govt.
Benches: 17 regular benches (15 at principal seats of High Courts, 2 at Jaipur and Lucknow). Holds circuit sittings at other HC seats.
Composition: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Members. Members drawn from judicial and administrative streams for expertise in both spheres.
Appeals: Lie before the Division Bench of the concerned High Court.

3. State Administrative Tribunal

Article 323 B empowers state legislatures to set up tribunals for various matters like levy, assessment, collection and enforcement of any of the tax matters connected with land reforms covered by Article 31A.

4. Water Disputes Tribunal

Parliament enacted Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956.
Standalone Tribunal: The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is passed to amend the Act to constitute a standalone Tribunal to remove the need to set up a separate Tribunal for each dispute (time-consuming).

5. Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT)

Military tribunal established under Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007.
Adjudication of disputes regarding commission, appointments, enrolments, conditions of service under Army Act 1950, Navy Act 1957, Air Force Act 1950.
Benches: Principal Bench in New Delhi. Regional Benches at Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, and Jaipur.
Composition: Judicial Member (Retired HC Judges) and Administrative Member (Retired Armed Forces members - Major General/equivalent for 3+ years, or JAG for 1+ year).

6. National Green Tribunal (NGT)

Formed as previous acts (1995, 1997) were inadequate. Law Commission 186th Report suggested multi-faceted Courts (Australia/NZ practice).
Established in 2010 under National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
Objective: Effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests/natural resources, enforcement of legal rights, and relief/compensation.
Mandate: Disposal of applications/appeals within 6 months.
Sittings: New Delhi (Principal). Other four: Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai.

7. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

Section 252 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that the Central Government shall constitute an Appellate Tribunal consisting of many Judicial Members and Accountant members as it thinks fit.

Characteristics of Administrative Tribunals

Administrative Tribunal is a creation of a statute.
Vested in the judicial power of the State and performs quasi-judicial functions (distinguished from pure administrative functions).
Bound to act judicially and follow the principles of natural justice.
Required to act openly, fairly and impartially.
Not bound by the strict rules of procedure and evidence prescribed by the civil procedure court.

Merging of Tribunals

The Finance Act of 2017 merged eight tribunals according to functional similarity:

Employees Provident Fund Appellate Tribunal with Industrial Tribunal.
Copyright Board with Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
Railways Rates Tribunal with Railways Claims Tribunal.
Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange with Appellate Tribunal (Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Act, 1976).
National Highways Tribunal with Airport Appellate Tribunal.
Cyber Appellate Tribunal & Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal with TDSAT.
Competition Appellate Tribunal with National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

Difference Between Tribunal and Court

No.	Court of Law	Tribunal
1	Part of traditional judicial system; judicial powers derived from the state.	Agency created by statute and invested with judicial power.
2	Judicial power to try all suits of civil nature unless expressly/impliedly barred.	Quasi-judicial body. Power to try cases of special matter conferred by statutes.
3	Judges are independent of executive regarding tenure, terms, etc. Judiciary is independent of Executive.	Tenure, terms and conditions are entirely in the hands of Executive (government).
4	Presiding officer is trained in law.	Member may not be trained in law; may be an expert in Administrative matters.
5	Judge must be impartial; not interested in the matter directly or indirectly.	Administrative Tribunal may be a party to the dispute to be decided by it.
6	Bound by all rules of evidence and procedure.	Not bound by rules but bound by principles of natural justice.
7	Decides questions objectively based on evidence/materials on record.	May decide taking into account departmental policy; decision may be subjective.
8	Can decide vires of a legislation.	Cannot do so.