Electricity Act 1947

31Establishment of Electricity Arbitration Tribunal.

(1)For the purpose of determining any question or dispute which under any provision of this Part of this Act or any regulations made thereunder is to be determined by arbitration under this Act, or any matter in respect of which jurisdiction is given to the arbitration tribunal under this Part of this Act, there shall be established a tribunal called the Electricity Arbitration Tribunal (in this Act referred to as " the arbitration tribunal ") and the arbitration tribunal shall subject to the provisions of this section, hear and determine every such question, dispute or matter as aforesaid.

(2)The arbitration tribunal shall, as the Lord Chancellor may direct, either sit as a single tribunal or sit in two or more divisions, and shall, for the hearing of any proceedings, be constituted as follows:—

(a)one member shall be a person of legal experience and he shall be the president of the tribunal;

(b)there shall be two other members of whom one shall be a person of experience in business and the other shall be a person of experience in finance:

Provided that, in relation to any proceedings which, under the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, are required to be held in Scotland, the member who is a person of legal experience shall be a person of legal experience in Scotland.

(3)The members of the tribunal shall be appointed by the Lord Chancellor, except that any member or members appointed as being a person or persons of legal experience in Scotland shall be appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session, and any member.appointed by the Lord President shall only act in relation to proceedings which are required as aforesaid to be held in Scotland.

(4)The members of the arbitration tribunal shall hold office for such period as may be determined at the time of their respective appointments and shall be eligible for reappointment:

Provided that—

(a)a member may at any time by not less than one month's notice in writing to the Lord Chancellor, or the Lord President of the Court of Session, as the case may be, resign his office ;

(b)the Lord Chancellor, or the Lord President of the Court of Session, as the case may be, may declare the office of any member vacant on the ground that he is unfit to continue in his office ;

(c)if any member becomes bankrupt or makes a composition with his creditors, his office shall thereupon become vacant.

(5)Where any such question, dispute or matter as aforesaid arises out of or in connection with the vesting by virtue of this Act of the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of any body, or in connection with any transaction of any body, and the principal place of business of the body is in Scotland, the tribunal shall sit in Scotland.

(6)If any member of the arbitration tribunal becomes, by reason of illness or other infirmity, temporarily incapable of performing the duties of his office, the Lord Chancellor, or the Lord President of the Court of Session, as the case may be, shall appoint some other, fit person to discharge his duties for any period not exceeding six months at one time, and the person so appointed shall, during that period, have the same powers as the person in whose place he was-appointed.

(7)The arbitration tribunal may, at any stage in any proceedings before them, refer to a person or persons appointed by them for the purpose, any question arising in the proceedings, for inquiry and report, and the report of any such person or persons may be adopted wholly or partly by the tribunal and, if so adopted, may be incorporated in an order of the tribunal.