PART V.

Abolition of the Railway Tribunal and Transfer of Certain of its Jurisdictions to the High Court.

105. —On the establishment date the railway tribunal shall be abolished.

106. —(1) On the establishment date there shall be transferred to and vested in the High Court the several jurisdictions which, immediately before the establishment date, were vested in or capable of being exercised by the railway tribunal—

(a) by virtue of section 23 of the Railways Act, 1924 (No. 29 of 1924), or

(b) by virtue of section 58 of the Railways Act, 1924 (No. 29 of 1924), or

(c) by virtue of section 30 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 (No. 2 of 1932).

(2) Any proceedings, which are pending before the railway tribunal immediately before the establishment date and which relate to matters in respect of which jurisdiction is, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, to be exercised, on and after the establishment date, by the High Court, may, upon the application to the High Court of either party, be transferred to the High Court and may thereupon be continued and concluded in all respects as if those proceedings had been originally instituted before the High Court.

(3) On and after the establishment date, every mention or reference contained, by virtue of the adaptation effected by subsection (2) of section 23 of the Railways Act, 1924 , in any British statute of or to the railway tribunal shall, so far as relates to the jurisdiction vested in the railway tribunal by the said section 23 and transferred to the High Court by this section, be construed and have effect as a mention of or a reference to the High Court.

(4) The reference in subsection (5) of section 58 of the Railways Act, 1924 , and in section 30 of the Road Transport Act, 1932 , to the railway tribunal shall, on and after the establishment date, be construed and take effect as a reference to the High Court.

107. —(1) The jurisdiction exercisable by the High Court by virtue of this Act shall be exercised by a judge of the High Court nominated by the President of the High Court for the purpose.

(2) Until rules of court are made regulating the practice and procedure of the High Court in relation to the jurisdiction exercisable by it by virtue of this Act, the said practice and procedure shall be regulated, as nearly as may be, by the rules regulating the practice and procedure of the railway tribunal in relation to the like jurisdiction exercisable by the railway tribunal immediately before the establishment date.

108. —(1) For the purposes of this section the Minister shall maintain—

(a) a panel (in this section referred to as the “A” panel of assessors) consisting of such number of persons (being persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, experienced in commercial and industrial affairs) as the Minister thinks fit, and

(b) a panel (in this section referred to as the “B” panel of assessors) consisting of such numbers of persons (being persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, experienced in transport affairs) as the Minister thinks fit.

(2) Every member of the “A” panel of assessors and the “B” panel of assessors shall be appointed by the Minister and shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of his appointment and shall be eligible for re-appointment at the expiration of any such term of office.

(3) Whenever the High Court in any matter in respect of which it has jurisdiction under this Act requests the Minister to nominate two assessors to aid the High Court in the matter, the Minister shall nominate two persons (one of whom shall be selected from the “A” panel of assessors and the other from the “B” panel of assessors) to act as such assessors and the persons so nominated shall act as assessors in the matter.

(4) The remuneration of any person acting as assessor in any matter under this section shall be determined by the High Court and shall, as the High Court may direct, be paid by such party to the matter as the High Court may direct or by each of the parties to the matter in such shares as the High Court thinks proper.

109. —(1) The Minister for Agriculture, after consultation with the Minister, may take such steps as he thinks proper for appearing as complainant on behalf of any person aggrieved in reference to any matter (other than a matter affecting the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs) which the High Court has, by virtue of this Act, jurisdiction to hear and determine.

(2) In addition to the powers conferred on the Minister for Agriculture by subsection (1) of this section and without prejudice to the exercise of such powers, the said Minister shall have the right of audience before the High Court in relation to any matter which the High Court has, by virtue of this Act, jurisdiction to hear and determine.