Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. Jurisdiction of Court. 58. SUBJECT to the provisions of this Act, the Court shall have jurisdiction for the settlement and determination of any Ibid., s. 52. industrial dispute referred to it by any Board, pursuant to sections forty-nine or fifty, or by industrial agreement, or by any party to an industrial dispute which has arisen in a district where no Board has been constituted, and for such purpose may summon any party to an industrial dispute to appear before it. 59. (1.) ANY party to the dispute may at any time take out tions. a summons, in the prescribed form, returnable before the president Summons for direcof the Court sitting in chambers. At the hearing of the summons the president may make such order as may be just with respect to all the interlocutory proceedings to be taken before the hearing by the Court of the dispute, and as to the costs thereof, and with respect to the issues to be submitted to the Court, the persons to be served with notice of the proceedings of the Court, particulars of the claims of the parties, admissions, discovery, interrogatories, inspection of documents, inspection of real or personal property, commissions, examination of witnesses, and the place and mode of hearing. The Court may, at the hearing of any dispute, revoke or amend any such order of the president, and may make any order which the president may make under this section. (2. In addition to the powers conferred by this section, the president of the Court sitting in chambers for the purpose of administering this Act shall have all the powers of a Judge of the Supreme Court sitting in chambers for the purpose of any matter before that Court. Additional powers. parties. 60. EVERY party to the dispute may appear personally or by agent, or by counsel or solicitor, and may produce before the Court Appearance of such witnesses, books, and documents as such party may think Ibid., s. 53. proper; and the Court shall have power to permit any other party who has or may appear to have a common interest in the matter, and be willing to be joined in the proceedings, to be so joined on such terms as it thinks fit. The Court shall have full and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and receive evidence, on oath or otherwise, as may be allowed by law, and to hear and determine the matters in dispute in such manner as it thinks fit, and shall be at liberty to receive any such evidence as it may think fit, whether it be strictly legal evidence or not, with full power to adjourn the consideration of any matter, wholly or in part, for any period, or without stating any period. Formal matters which have been proved or admitted before a Board need not be again proved or admitted before the Court. 61. Sittings of Court. N.Z. Industrial, etc., Adjournment of Parties before Court to be those before Board. N.Z. Industrial, etc. Act, 1894, s. 55. Joinder of other parties. Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. 61. (1.) THE sittings of the Court shall be held at such time and place as are from time to time fixed by the president. (2.) The sittings may be fixed either for a particular case or generally for all cases then before the Court and ripe for hearing, and it shall be the duty of the clerk to give to each member of the Court at least forty-eight hours' previous notice of the time and place of each sitting. (3.) The Court may be adjourned from time to time and from place to place in manner following, that is to say:— (a.) By the Court or the president at any sitting thereof, or, if the president is absent from such sitting, then by any other member present, or if no member is present, then by the clerk; and (b.) By the president at any time before the time fixed for the sitting, and in such case the clerk shall notify the members of the Court and all parties concerned. 62. THE parties to the proceedings before the Court shall be those before the Board, and the provisions hereinbefore contained, as to the appearance of parties before a Board, shall apply to proceedings before the Court. Provided that any employer, association, or industrial union may on application, if the Court think it equitable, be joined as N.Z. Industrial, etc., party to the proceedings at any stage thereof, and on such terms as the Court thinks equitable. Act. 1896, s. 4. Notice of sittings. At least three days' notice shall be given to each party to the N.Z. Industrial, etc., proceedings of the time and place appointed for the meeting of the Court, except where a party is joined on his own application or with his own consent. Act, 1894, s. 55. Summons to witness. Act, 1894, s. 56. 63. THE clerk shall, at the request of any party, issue a N.Z. Industrial, etc., summons in the prescribed manner to any person to appear and give evidence in any matter before the Court, and to produce any books, deeds, papers, or writings relating to such matter in his possession or under his control. Such books, deeds, papers, or writings may be inspected by the members of the Court for the purposes of this Act; but the information obtained therefrom shall not in any form be made public. And every person upon whom such summons has been served, and to whom at the same time payment or a tender of his travelling expenses on the scale hereinafter mentioned has been made, and who neglects or refuses, without sufficient cause, to appear or to produce any books, deeds, papers, or writings required by such summons Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. summons to be produced, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Twenty pounds, or, in default of payment, to be imprisoned for not more than one month; but the payment of such fine or the undergoing of such imprisonment shall not exempt any person from liability to an action for disobeying such summons. 64. WHERE it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court that certain parts of books or documents to be adduced in evidence do not relate to the matter before the Court, the party producing the same shall be allowed to seal up such parts. Parts of books, etc., may be sealed up. irrelevant to case Ibid., s. 57. 65. EVERY person who is summoned and appears as a witness shall be entitled to an allowance or compensation for expenses and Allowances to witloss of time, according to the scale for the time being in force in the Local Courts. nesses. Ibid., s. 58. oaths. Ibid., s. 59. 66. EVERY member of the Court and the clerk shall have power to administer oaths to and take the affirmations of all Power to administer witnesses who testify orally or by affidavit in matters before the Court, and all wilful false swearing or false affirmation in any proceeding before the Court under this Act shall be deemed to be wilful and corrupt perjury, and indictable and punishable as such; and on any indictment or information it shall be sufficient to prove that the oath or affirmation was administered by such member or clerk as aforesaid. Court. 67. THE Court, and on being authorised by the Court, any View by, or by the member or officer thereof, or any other person may at any time direction of the exercise the powers to view and interrogate given by section fortyeight, and any person who hinders or obstructs the Court or any such member, officer, or person, as aforesaid, in the exercise of any powers conferred by this section, or who refuses to answer any question put to him under such power, shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding Fifty pounds. The Court may refer 68. THE Court may refer to an expert the taking of accounts, estimates of quantities, calculations of strains, and other technical accounts, etc., to an matters, and to accept the report of such experts as evidence. expert. Provision for obtain 69. WHENEVER the Court deems it necessary for the purpose of just and equitable decision to examine a witness who is going ing evidence at a out of the Colony, or who from age, illness, or infirmity, or some distance. other cause, is likely to be unable to attend the Court, or to examine (New) see ibid., 8. 60. a witness who is already out of the Colony, the Court shall have the powers of the Supreme Court in that behalf, and may adopt, mutatis mutandis, the procedure followed and the forms used by that Court for the like purposes respectively. 70. Majority of Court to decide matters referred. Ibid., s. 61. Failure of member to attend Court. Ibid., s. 62. Contempt of Court. On failure of party to proceed ex parte. Ibid., s. 65. Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. 70. THE Court may sit and conduct its proceedings in open Court, and a majority of the members present may decide and finally determine any matters referred to them. The decision of the president shall prevail in case of difference of opinion of the other members of the Court. 71. IF a member, other than the president, fails to attend a sitting of the Court without good cause shown to the satisfaction of the president, the other members present and the president may nevertheless act as fully as if all the members were present. 72. IF any person wilfully insults the Court or any member thereof during the sitting of the Court, or wilfully interrupts the proceedings of the Court, or is guilty in any other manner of any wilful contempt in the face of the Court, any officer of the Court, with or without the assistance of any other person, may take such offender into custody and remove him from the Court, to be detained in custody until the rising of the Court, and the person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Ten pounds for such offence, to be recovered in a summary way as hereinafter provided. 73. IF any party to a proceeding before the Court fails, after attend, Court may receiving notice to attend or be represented before the Court without good cause shown to the Court, the Court may proceed and act as fully in the matter before it as if such party had duly attended or been represented. Any person who is a party to any such proceedings may be required to give evidence before the Court by the means herein before provided with respect to a witness. Power to refer matters to a Board for investigation. Ibid., s. 66. Dismissal of frivolous claims. Ibid., s. 67. Award how made and dealt with. Ibid., s. 68. 74. THE Court may from time to time refer any matters before it to a Board for investigation and report, if the Court thinks that the Board will arrive more easily at a settlement thereof, and the award of the Court shall be based on the report of such Board. 75. THE Court may at any time dismiss any matter referred to it which it thinks frivolous or trivial, and the award in such case may be limited to an order upon the party bringing the matter before the Court for payment of costs. 76. THE award shall be made within one month after the Court has begun to sit for the hearing of any reference, and shall be signed by the president of the Court, and shall have the seal of the Court attached thereto, and shall be deposited in the office of the clerk Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration. clerk of the district wherein the reference arose, and shall be open during office hours to inspection, without charge, by all persons interested therein. Court may 1898, s. 7. award 77. THE Court, by its award, may order any party to pay to any other party costs and expenses (including the expenses of costs and apportion witnesses), and may apportion such costs between the parties or any them. of them, as it thinks fit, and may at any time vary or alter any such Ibid., s. 69, as order in such manner as appears to the Court reasonable; and such amended by Act of costs, or any other costs ordered by the Court to be paid, may be recovered in any Court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the party entitled thereto from the party liable therefor; but no costs shall in any case be allowed on account of any agent, solicitor, or counsel appearing for any party. The Court shall state in its award or order, the amount of costs. or expenses so ordered to be paid, and may either itself ascertain the amount thereof, or may require the amount to be ascertained by taxation, by the taxing officer of the Supreme Court, before being inserted in the award, and such officer shall have, in relation to such taxation all such duty and authority as he would have in regard to taxation of costs in a case within the ordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Award not to be manner. Ibid., s. 70. 78. THE award shall be framed in such manner as shall best express the decision of the Court, avoiding all technicality where framed in technical possible, but shall state in clear terms what is or is not to be done or performed by each party or person affected by the decision, and may provide for an alternative course to be taken by any party to the proceedings, or by any person affected thereby; but no award shall be void or vitiated in any way because of any informality or want of form. Court may amend 79. THE Court shall have power, by order, at any time during the currency of the award, to amend the provisions of the award for award. the purpose of remedying any defect therein or of giving fuller effect thereto. The Court may grant 80. THE Court shall have power to grant injunctions and prohibitions and issue writs of mandamus and provide all ancillary injunctions, etc. remedies, and generally to exercise the powers of the Supreme Court in the administration of this Act. 81. IN all legal and other proceedings it shall be sufficient to produce the award with the seal of the Court thereto, and it shall Award under seal to not be necessary to prove any conditions precedent entitling the Court to make such award. be evidence. Ibid., s. 71. 82. |
