{"id":126562,"date":"2021-08-16T19:43:44","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T14:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=126562"},"modified":"2021-08-16T19:43:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T14:13:44","slug":"tribunal-reforms-whats-abolished-what-happens-to-pending-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/tribunal-reforms-whats-abolished-what-happens-to-pending-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribunal reforms: what\u2019s abolished, what happens to pending cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: Indian Express<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Relevance:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Tribunals in India, Justice delivery<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Synopsis:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Changes introduced by the Tribunals Reform Bill 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Context<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Supreme Court recently expressed its discontentment over the functioning of tribunals in the country<\/span>. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India recently asked the government if it intends to shut down tribunals that have several key vacant posts. This came days after Lok Sabha passed the Tribunals Reform Bill to dissolve at least eight tribunals.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Bill about?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 replaces a similar Ordinance promulgated in April 2021 that sought to dissolve eight tribunals that functioned as appellate bodies to hear disputes under various statutes, and transferred their functions to existing judicial forums such as a civil court or a High Court.<\/p>\n

Why tribunals are being dissolved?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Analysis of data of the last three years has shown that tribunals in several sectors have\u00a0<\/span>not necessarily led to faster justice delivery<\/span><\/b> and costing more to the\u00a0exchequer.\u00a0<\/span>This has led to the decision to rationalize the functioning of tribunals, a process that it began in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What are the tribunals that are being dissolved?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Among the key ones are the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) under the Cinematograph Act, 1952; the Intellectual Property Appellate Board under the Copyrights Act, 1957; and the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal.<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong><\/span>: Cases pending before the dissolved tribunals will be transferred to High Courts or commercial civil courts immediately.<\/p>\n

Salient features of the bill<\/span><\/b><\/h5>\n

Aims and objectives:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>The\u00a0Bill provides for\u00a0<\/span>uniform pay and rules<\/span><\/b>\u00a0for the search and selection committees.\u00a0The move brings greater accountability on the functioning of the tribunals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It states\u00a0that the Chairpersons and Members of the tribunal being abolished shall cease to hold office.\u00a0It also proposes\u00a0<\/span>changes in the process of appointment of certain other tribunals.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It states that the central government shall, on the recommendation of the\u00a0<\/span>Search-cum-Selection Committee,<\/span><\/b>\u00a0remove from office any Chairperson or a Member, who\u2014<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n