Tribunals

Tribunals

Subject: Polity

Context: The government proposes to wind up five tribunals, including Airport Appellate Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings and Intellectual Property Appellate Board, Appellate Tribunal under the Cinematograph Act and Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal through Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2021

Concept:

• Tribunalisation has become a major issue with plethora of new tribunals across the sector. Critics also sees this as a way of by-passing High Courts as under the Constitution appeal to tribunals order lies directly before the court.
• The Constitution does not define tribunals.
• In Durga Shankar Mehta v/s Raghuraj Singh case the SC defined tribunal in the following words: “The Tribunal as used in Article 136 does not mean the same thing as ‘Court’ but includes, within its ambit, all adjudicating bodies, provided they are constituted by the state and are vested with judicial functions as distinguished from administrative or executive functions.
• 42^nd Amendment provided for tribunals under article 323-A and 323-B.
• Art 323-A enabled Parliament to create Administrative tribunals.
• Other tribunals could be created by both Parliament and the states under the Art 323-B for matters falling under their jurisdiction.
• Under Art 323-B hierarchy of tribunals could be created. However, under Art 323-A only one administrative tribunal (CAT in 1985) and one each for each states or too or more states can be created, thus no hierarchy.