Procedure before Appellate Tribunal: natural justice-guided proceedings with civil court powers and decree-like enforcement. The Appellate Tribunal shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and may regulate its own procedure, notwithstanding the Code of Civil Procedure. It is vested with specified civil court powers-including summoning witnesses, compelling document production, receiving affidavit evidence, requisitioning public records subject to evidentiary limits, issuing commissions, and enforcing its orders as if they were civil court decrees-and its proceedings are deemed judicial proceedings for certain penal and criminal procedure purposes.