National Tribunals Commission "EMPOWER IAS"

Context: 

• The union government has recently, abolished several appellate tribunals and authorities and transferred their jurisdiction to other existing judicial bodies through the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021.

 

BACKGROUND

• The Centre began the process of rationalisation of tribunals in 2015. 
• By the Finance Act, 2017, seven tribunals were abolished or merged based on functional similarity and their total number was reduced to 19 from 26.
• In February, 2021, the government introduced a bill to abolish some tribunals where the public at large is not litigant.
• Since the bill could not get parliamentary nod, an ordinance was issued.
• The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, is issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

 

National Tribunals Commission & Its Impact

• The idea of an NTC was first mooted by the Supreme Court in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997).
• Objective: NTC is envisaged to be an independent umbrella body to supervise the functioning of tribunals, appointment of and disciplinary proceedings against members, and to take care of administrative and infrastructural needs of the tribunals.
• Uniformity: NTC will support uniform administration across all tribunals. It could set performance standards for the efficiency of tribunals and their own administrative processes.
• Ensuring Separation of Powers: Giving the NTC the authority to set members’ salaries, allowances, and other service conditions, subject to regulations, would help maintain tribunals’ independence.
• The NTC could pave the way for the separation of the administrative and judicial functions carried out by various tribunals.
• Expansion of Services: A ‘corporatised’ structure of NTC with a Board, a CEO and a Secretariat will allow it to scale up its services and provide requisite administrative support to all tribunals across the country.
• Autonomous Oversight: NTC could function as an independent recruitment body to develop and operationalise the procedure for disciplinary proceedings and appointment of tribunal members.
• An NTC will effectively be able to bring in uniformity in the appointment system meanwhile ensuring that it is independent and transparent.

 

What is the significance of NTC?

• A key rationale for demanding the NTC is the need for an authority to support uniform administration across all tribunals.
• The NTC could therefore pave the way for the separation of the administrative and judicial functions carried out by various tribunals.
• A ‘corporatised’ structure of NTC with a Board, a CEO and a Secretariat will allow it to scale up its services.
• It could thus provide requisite administrative support to all tribunals across the country.

 

TRIBUNALS IN INDIA

Constitutionality of the Tribunals

• Tribunals have been a long-standing feature of the Indian judicial system
• The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was set up as early as 1941. 
• The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution introduced Part XIV-A which inserted Article 323-A and 323-B in to the Constitution.

• It empowered both the Parliament and state legislatures to establish administrative and other tribunals.
• With this insertion, tribunals, as an alternate method of adjudication, received constitutional legitimacy.

 

Categories of Tribunals

Administrative Tribunals: 

• It is set-up by an act of parliament i.e., Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 under Article 323 A of the Constitution.
• It adjudicates disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to the public service and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union and the States
• Under Article 323 B, the parliament and the state legislature are authorised to provide for the establishment of tribunals for the adjudication of disputes relating to the following matters:
  • Taxation
  • Foreign exchange, import and export
  • Industrial and labour
  • Land reforms
  • Ceiling on urban property
  • Elections to Parliament and state legislatures
  • Foodstuff
  • Rent and tenancy rights

 

Advantages of Tribunals

• Flexibility: The introduction of tribunals engendered flexibility and versatility in the judicial system of India.
• Speedy Justice: The core objective of the tribunal is to deliver quick and quality justice. 
• Less Expensive: The Tribunals take less time to solve the cases as compared to the ordinary courts. As a result, the expenses are reduced. 
• Relief to Courts: The system of administrative adjudication has lowered down the burden of the cases on the ordinary courts.

 

Problems with Tribunals

• Lack of independence: The principle of judicial independence traces its origins from the doctrine of separation of powers. 
  • But here ministries are parties before the very tribunals whose staff, finances, and administration are handled by them.
• Administrative concerns: Three kinds of concerns fall under the ambit of administration:
  • Discrepancies in qualifications: Different qualification requirements lead to varying competencies, maturity and status of members, which is problematic. 
  • Tenure and age of retirement: Uneven tenures also hamper the lack of institutional continuity.
  • Nodal Ministries: There is a degree of variance in the appointment process, qualification of members, age of retirement, resources and infrastructure of different tribunals.
• Jurisdiction of the High Courts: By passing the jurisdiction of High Courts have been the major criticisms against the tribunal system in India.