TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (12) TMI 3
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....C) No.995 of 2020 Writ Petition (C) No.991 of 2020 Misc. Application No.1654 of 2020 In Writ Petition (C) No.279 of 2017 Writ Petition (C) No.1085 of 2020 Misc. Application No.1811 of 2020 In Writ Petition (C) No.279 of 2017 Civil Appeal No.3598 of 2020(@ SLP (C) No.11612 of 2020) For the parties: Mr. K.K.Venugopal,Ld.AG Mr. S.V.Raju,Ld.ASG Mr. BalbirSingh,Ld.ASG Mr. R.Balasubramanian, Sr. Adv. Mr. ZohebHossain, Adv. Mr. AnkurTalwar, Adv. Ms. ChinmayeeChandra, Adv. Ms. ShradhaDeshmukh, Adv. Mr. SanjeevMenon, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR Mr. A.S. Chandhiok, Sr. Adv. Mr. Virender Ganda, Sr. Adv. Mr. Satyajit A. Desai, Adv. Mr. Vipul Ganda, Adv. Mr. Satya Kam Sharma, Adv. Ms. Anagha S. Desai, AOR Ms. Aastha Trivedi, Adv. Ms. Guresha Bhambra, Adv. Mr. Ritesh Kumar, Adv. Mr. Arvind P. Datar, Sr Adv. Mr. Rahul Unnikrishnan, Adv. Mr. T.V.S. Raghavendra Sreyas, AOR Mr. Naveen Hegde Adv. Mr. N Sai Vinod, Adv. Ms. Gayatri Gulati, Adv. Mr. C.S. Vaidyanathan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AOR Mr. Nalin Talwar, Adv. Mr. Amish Tandon, Adv. Mr. Ayush Beotra, Adv. Mr. Varun Tandon, Adv. Ms. Megha Choubey, Adv. Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Sr. Adv. Ms. Sakshi Kakkar, AOR Mr. Shakti Singh, Adv Mr. ....
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....ourt is once again, within the span of a year, called upon to decide the constitutionality of various provisions concerning the selection, appointment, tenure, conditions of service, and ancillary matters relating to various tribunals, 19 in number, which act in aid of the judicial branch. That the judicial system and this Court in particular has to live these déjà vu moments, time and again (exemplified by no less than four constitution bench judgments) in the last 8 years, speaks profound volumes about the constancy of other branches of governance, in their insistence regarding these issues. At the heart of this, however, are stakes far greater: the guarantee of the rule of law to each citizen of the country, with the concomitant guarantee of equal protection of the law. This judgment is to be read as a sequel, and together with the decision of the Constitution Bench in Rojer Mathew v. South Indian Bank Limited (2020) 6 SCC 1. 2. The core controversy arising for this Court's consideration is the constitutional validity of the "Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities [Qualification, Experience and Other Conditions of Service of Members] Rules, 2020" (he....
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.... respect to functioning of tribunals. In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) 3 SCC 261, this Court held that the power of judicial review vested in the High Courts and this Court under Articles 226 and 227, and 32 is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, the Court held that the Tribunals cannot act as substitutes of the High Courts and this Court, and that their functioning is only supplementary and that all decisions of administrative Tribunals will be subject to scrutiny before a Division Bench of the respective High Courts. Addressing the issue of the dependence of tribunals on the Executive for administrative requirements, a recommendation was made for creation of a single umbrella organisation which will be an independent supervisory body to oversee the working of the Tribunals. This Court was also of the opinion that the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India should be the nodal Ministry. 5. Part I-B and Part I-C were inserted in the Companies Act, 1956 providing for the constitution of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Madras Bar Association filed a Writ Petition in the....
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....the provisions in the 1956 Act which were found to be unconstitutional by this Court in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra). The constitutional validity of the provisions in Chapter XXVII of the Companies Act, 2013 was upheld by a judgment in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2015) 8 SCC 583. However, this Court was of the view that certain provisions relating to composition of the Search-cum Selection Committee and qualification of Members of the Tribunals are invalid as they are contrary to the directions issued by the earlier judgment in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra). 6. By the Finance Act, 2017, amendments were made to certain Acts to provide for merger of Tribunals and other authorities, and conditions of service of Chairpersons, Members, etc. According to Section 183 of the Finance Act, 2017, the provisions of Section 184 shall apply to the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Chairman, ViceChairman, President, Vice-President, Presiding Officer or Member of the Tribunal or Appellate Tribunal or other authorities, as specified under Column (2) of the Eighth Schedule to the Finance Act, 2017 on and from the appointed day i.e. 2....
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....n 'rank' and 'status' with Constitutional functionaries? 86.7 VII. Whether direct statutory appeals from Tribunals to the Supreme Court ought to be detoured? 86.8 VIII. Whether there is a need for amalgamation of existing Tribunals and setting up of benches." 7. The issue pertaining to whether the Finance Act, 2017 was a "Money Bill" (and if not, the need for it to be passed by the Rajya Sabha) was referred to a larger Bench and it was held that Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017 does not suffer from excessive delegation of legislative functions. The 2017 Rules were struck down as being contrary to the principles of the Constitution as interpreted by various decisions of this Court (including those previously referred to herein). The Central Government was directed to reformulate the Rules strictly in conformity and in accordance with the principles delineated by this Court in its earlier judgments read with the observations made in the judgment in Rojer Mathew (supra). Non-discriminatory and uniform conditions of service including assured tenure were directed to be formulated by the Central Government in the new set of Rules. A Writ of Mandamus was issued to....
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....he beginning and who was appointed as Amicus Curiae in the earlier rounds to assist this Court as Amicus Curiae to which he readily and graciously accepted. We have heard Mr. Arvind P. Datar, learned Senior Counsel (Amicus Curiae), Mr. Mukul Rohtagi, Mr. C.A. Sundaram, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Vikas Singh, learned Senior Counsel, Ms. Anitha Shenoy, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. K.K. Venugopal, learned Attorney General for India, Mr. Balbir Singh, learned Additional Solicitor General, Mr. S.V. Raju, learned Additional Solicitor General, Mr. R. Balasubramanium, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. A.S. Chandhiok, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Virender Ganda, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. M.S. Ganesh, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Sidharth Luthra, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. C.S. Vaidyanathan, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Guru Krishnakumar, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Rakesh Kumar Khanna, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Gautam Misra, learned Senior Counsel, Mr. P.S. Narasimha, learned Senior Counsel and other learned counsel appearing for the parties. For the sake of convenience, Writ Petition (Civil) No.804 of 2020 filed by the Madras Bar Association is taken as the lead case. The points raised in the ....
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....t there should be a wholly independent agency for the administration of all the Tribunals. The learned Amicus Curiae also brought to our notice a statement made by Mr. Arun Jaitley, the then Minister of Law and Justice on the floor of the Parliament on 02.08.2001 that there was a proposal to set up a Central Tribunals Division. According to the learned Amicus Curiae, setting up a National Tribunals Commission as a supervisory body over the Tribunals would go a long way in improving the effective functioning of the Tribunals and enhancing the public image of the Tribunals. The mounting arrears in the Tribunals is mainly due to the delay in filling up the vacancies of the Presiding Officers and members of the Tribunals. The learned Amicus Curiae suggested that there should be a National Tribunals Commission manned by retired Judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices of the High Courts and Members from the Executive which will have a full-time Secretary performing the following functions: a) Selection of candidates; b) Re-appointment of candidates; c) Conducting of inquiry against Members; d) Sanction leave of Members wherever necessary; ....
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.... nodal Ministry which will be in a position to oversee the working of these Tribunals. For a number of reasons that Ministry should appropriately be the Ministry of Law. It would be open for the Ministry, in its turn, to appoint an independent supervisory body to oversee the working of the Tribunals. This will ensure that if the President or Chairperson of the Tribunal is for some reason unable to take sufficient interest in the working of the Tribunal, the entire system will not languish and the ultimate consumer of justice will not suffer. The creation of a single umbrella organisation will, in our view, remove many of the ills of the present system. If the need arises, there can be separate umbrella organisations at the Central and the State levels. Such a supervisory authority must try to ensure that the independence of the members of all such Tribunals is maintained. To that extent, the procedure for the selection of the members of the Tribunals, the manner in which funds are allocated for the functioning of the Tribunals and all other consequential details will have to be clearly spelt out." 17. In para 70 of Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra), this Co....
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....ihood of the independence of adjudication process being compromised in a situation where the Tribunal is made dependent for its needs on a litigant. The need for financial independence of the Tribunals has been dealt with by this Court in Rojer Mathew (supra). A direction was given to the Ministry of Finance to earmark separate and dedicated funds for the Tribunals from the Consolidated Fund of India so that the Tribunals will not be under the financial control of the parent Departments. We reiterate the importance of the constitution of an autonomous oversight body for recruitment and supervision of the performance of the Tribunals. It is high time that the observations and suggestions made in this regard by this Court shall be implemented by the Union of India. An independent body headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court supervising the appointments and the functioning of the Tribunals apart from being in control of any disciplinary proceedings against the Members would not only improve the functioning of the Tribunals but would also be in accordance with the principles of judicial independence. We also notice that in the final directions and conclusions recorded in Roger M....
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....earch-cum-Selection Committees cannot have the Secretaries of the sponsoring departments as its members, as held by this Court in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2014) (supra). 22. During the course of arguments, the learned Attorney General submitted that the 2020 Rules would be amended providing for a casting vote to the Chairperson of the Search-cum-Selection Committee to allay the apprehension of the petitioner. In that event, judicial dominance in the Search-cum-Selection Committee can be maintained as the Chief Justice of India or his nominee and the Presiding Officer of the Tribunal who is normally a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, who represent the judiciary, along with a casting vote to the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, will be in majority in the Search-cum-Selection Committee. In response to the submission of the learned Attorney General, Mr. Datar argued that there are some Tribunals where the Presiding Officer of the Tribunal is not a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of the High Court or Judge of a High Court. According to Mr. Datar, the Selection Committee should consist of the Chie....
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....e argued that in view of the law laid down by this Court in Sundeep Kumar Bafna v. State of Maharashtra (2014) 16 SCC 623 that in case of a conflict between decisions of two Coordinate Benches of this Court, the law laid down by the earlier Bench shall prevail. He further stated that in a later judgment in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2015) (supra) this Court approved the Search-cum-Selection Committee consisting of the Secretary of the sponsoring department. 24. The issue of constitution of the Search-cum-Selection Committees for appointment to the posts of Chairperson and Members of the Tribunal has been dealt with by this Court earlier. Section 10 FX of the Companies Act, 1956 provided for constitution of a Search-cum-Selection Committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India or his nominee as the Chairperson and four Secretaries to the Government of India from the Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs, Ministry of Labour, and Ministry of Law and Justice respectively as Members. The validity of Section 10 FX was challenged by the Madras Bar Association as being violative of the principles of separation of powers and judicial independence. This Court in Union ....
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....Companies Act, 2013 were again the subject matter of challenge before this Court in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2015) (supra). Section 412 of the Companies Act, 2013 deals with the selection of the Members of the NCLT and NCLAT. The President of the Tribunal, the Chairperson and Judicial Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall be appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The Search-cum-Selection Committee for appointment of the Members of the Tribunal and the Technical Members of the Appellate Tribunal shall consist of the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court and the Secretaries of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of Finance. In Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2015) (supra), this Court expressed its displeasure in the constitution of the Search-cum-Selection Committee which is contrary to the principles laid down in its earlier judgment in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra). Section 412 (2) of the Companies Act, 2013 was held to be not valid as it was found to be against the binding precedents of t....
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....d have a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court nominated by the Chief Justice of India in place of the Chairperson of the Tribunal. 28. The learned Attorney General stated that the 2020 Rules would be amended to reflect that whenever the re-appointment of the Chairman or Chairperson or President of a Tribunal is considered by the Search-cum-Selection Committee, the Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal shall be replaced by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court nominated by the Chief Justice of India. We approve this submission of the Attorney General. 29. It has been repeatedly held by this Court that the Secretaries of the sponsoring departments should not be members of the Searchcum-Selection Committee. We are not in agreement with the submission of the learned Attorney General that the Secretary of the sponsoring department being a member of the Search-cum-Selection Committee was approved by this Court in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra) and it would prevail over the later judgment in Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2014) (supra). We have alread....
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....partment shall serve as the Member-Secretary or Convener, without a vote. 31. Rule 4 (2) of the Rules postulates that a panel of two or three persons shall be recommended by the Search-cum-Selection Committee from which the appointments to the posts of Chairperson or members of the Tribunal shall be made by the Central Government. The learned Amicus Curiae voiced serious objections to Rule 4(2) on the ground that it would be compromising judicial independence. According to Mr. Datar, the procedure for appointment to the Tribunals should be completely outside executive control. The learned Attorney General stated that a panel of names consisting two or three persons is essential because their antecedents have to be examined by the Intelligence Bureau before appointing them to a Tribunal. He suggested that the number of persons to be recommended can be two instead of three to limit the discretion of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. The recommendations for appointments by the Search-cum-Selection Committee should be final and the executive should not be permitted to exercise their discretion in the matter of appointments to the Tribunals. Accordingly, we direct that Rule ....
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....ed that due to the provision for re-appointment, eligible lawyers who shall be appointed at the age of 45 years will have the advantage of four or five extensions or till the said member reaches the age of 65 years. 34. This Court directed the extension of the tenure of the members of the Tribunal from three years to seven or five years subject to their eligibility in the case of Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra). This Court was of the opinion that the term of three years is very short and by the time the members achieve the required knowledge, expertise and efficiency, the term would be over. In the said judgment it was further observed that the Tribunals would function effectively and efficiently only when they are able to attract younger members who have a reasonable period of service. In spite of the above precedent, a tenure of three years was fixed for the members of Tribunals in the 2017 Rules. While setting aside the 2017 Rules, this Court in Rojer Mathew (supra) held that a short period of service of three years is anti-merit as it would have the effect of discouraging meritorious candidates to accept the posts of judicial members in the Tribunals.....
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....n the 2020 Rules. However, the learned Attorney General submitted that the members shall be entitled to seek reappointment. Reappointment for at least one term shall be provided to the persons who are appointed to the Tribunals at a young age by giving preference to the service rendered by them. HOUSE RENT ALLOWANCE 37. According to Rule 15 of the 2020 Rules, the Chairperson and the other members of the Tribunals shall be entitled to house rent allowance at the same rate admissible to officers of the Government of India holding grade 'A' posts carrying the same pay. The contention of the learned Amicus Curiae is that it is a well-known fact that it is difficult to get Judges of High Courts of merit and ability as members of Tribunals, particularly due to the absence of a provision for housing. Lack of housing facilities becomes a deterrent for retired Judges from States outside Delhi to accept appointments to the Tribunals. It will not be possible for a retired Judge of the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of a High Court or a Judge of a High Court to get suitable accommodation in Delhi, where most of the Tribunals are situated, for Rs. 75,000/- per month which is paid as h....
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....ve condition and, on the other hand, the parent enactments and previously existing rules enabled Advocates (who were eligible to be appointed as Judges of High Courts) to be considered for appointment for these tribunals. The learned Amicus curiae argued that it would be very difficult for competent and successful Advocates, in the concerned field, to uproot themselves and accept membership of tribunals, if they are to be eligible at the late age of 50 years and resultantly, those less competent would be willing, contrary to public interest. The Attorney General had submitted that exclusion of Advocates was a matter of policy and that the eligibility condition wherever they could be considered, in some tribunals of 25 years practice, was to bring about parity with members of the Indian Legal Service, who could, in some instances be considered for appointment as judicial members. During the submissions, the Attorney General had fairly stated that the 2020 Rules will be amended making Advocates eligible for appointment in the tribunals where they are presently excluded under the 2020 Rules as judicial members provided, they have 25 years of experience. This is in line with the previo....
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.... member of a Tribunal. Exclusion of Advocates in 10 out of 19 tribunals, for consideration as judicial members, is therefore, contrary to Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) and Madras Bar Association v. Union of India (2015) . However, it is left open to the Search-cum-Selection Committee to take into account in the experience of the Advocates at the bar and the specialization of the Advocates in the relevant branch of law while considering them for appointment as judicial members. ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS OF INDIAN LEGAL SERVICE 42. The grievance of the learned Amicus Curiae is that members of the Indian Legal Service have been made eligible for appointment as judicial members to some Tribunals in spite of the judgment of this Court in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra), wherein it was held that they can only be appointed as technical members. The contention of the Union of India is that there is a conflict of opinion in Union of India v. Madras Bar Association (2010) (supra) and the judgment of this Court in S.P. Sampath Kumar (supra). It was argued that this Court in S.P. Sampath Kumar (supra) upheld the appointment of the members of the Ind....
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....mbers. In the light of the submission made by the learned Attorney General and the Amicus Curiae, we hold that the members of Indian Legal Service shall be entitled to be considered for appointment as a judicial member subject to their fulfilling the other criteria which advocates are subjected to. In addition, the nature of work done by the members of the Indian Legal Service and their specialization in the relevant branches of law shall be considered by the Search-cum-Selection Committee while evaluating their candidature. 44. We would wish to emphasize here that the setting up of tribunals, and the subject matters they are expected to deal with, having regard to the challenges faced by a growing modern economy, are matters of executive policy. When it comes to personnel who would operate these tribunals (given that the issues they decide would ultimately reach this Court, in appellate review or in some cases, judicial review), competence, especially in matters of law as well as procedure to be adopted by such judicial bodies, becomes matters of concern for this Court. These tribunals discharge a judicial role, and with respect to matters entrusted to them, the jurisdiction of....
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....rocedure to be followed in matters of complaints against the Presiding Officers and members of the Tribunals is that a preliminary scrutiny may be made by the Central Government and the report should be placed before the Search-cum-Selection Committee. It is open to the Search-cum-Selection Committee to accept or reject the preliminary scrutiny. In case the Search-cum-Selection Committee is of the opinion that the findings of the preliminary scrutiny are correct, then the Search-cum-Selection Committee should be entitled to proceed further to conduct an inquiry on its own, if it so choses. The findings of the Search-cum-Selection Committee shall be final and the action recommended by the Search-cum-Selection Committee shall be implemented by the Central Government. 46. The learned Attorney General submitted that the preliminary scrutiny done by the Central Government, according to Rule 8 (1) is only for the purpose of weeding out frivolous complaints. The learned Attorney General has also fairly submitted that the recommendations made by the Search-cum-Selection Committee shall be implemented by the Central Government. We are in agreement with the submissions of the learned Atto....
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....s Curiae relied upon the judgment of this Court in Sri Vijayalakshmi Rice Mills v. State of A.P. (1976) 3 SCC 37 to argue that the Rules cannot be given retrospective effect. He stated that the 2017 Rules have become non est after being struck down in Rojer Mathew (supra) and the 2020 Rules cannot be treated as an amendment or modification of the 2017 Rules. He stressed on the point that giving retrospective effect to 2020 Rules would result in inequitable consequences and serious hardship. For instance, some Vice Chairpersons, Vice Presidents and Vice Chairmen were appointed for a period of three years with an upper age limit of 67 years under the 2017 Rules. However, under the 2020 Rules their appointment period is four years with the upper age limit of 65 years. The term of office of persons who are appointed under the 2017 Rules would be altered if the 2020 Rules are given retrospective effect. The learned Amicus Curiae was supported by other Senior Counsel who vehemently argued that the 2020 Rules are only prospective. 49. The Attorney General argued that Section 183 of the Finance Act, 2017 provided that the Rules made under Section 184 shall have effect from the appointed....
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....visaged in the Constitution and hence struck down by this Court in Rojer Mathew (supra). The Central Government was directed to reformulate the Rules in conformity and in accordance with the principles delineated by this Court in its earlier judgment and the observations made in Rojer Mathew (supra). The 2020 Rules are made in exercise of the power conferred under Section 184 of the Finance Act which came into force on their publication in the official Gazette as per Rule 1(2). The date of publication of the 2020 Rules is 12.02.2020. We are unable to accept the submission of learned Attorney General that the 2020 Rules which replaced the 2017 Rules shall come into force with effect from 26.05.2017 which was the appointed day in accordance with the 2017 Rules. It is true that the 2017 Rules were brought into force from 26.05.2017 and Section 183 of the Finance Act provides for any appointment made after the appointed day shall be in accordance with the Rules made under Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017. 2017 Rules which have come into force with effect from 26.05.2017 in accordance with Section 183 have been struck down by this Court. The 2020 Rules which came into force from the....
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....ent of India shall be established to cater to the requirements of the Tribunals. (ii) Instead of the four-member Search-cum-Selection Committees provided for in Column (4) of the Schedule to the 2020 Rules with the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, outgoing or sitting Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal and two Secretaries to the Government of India, the Searchcum-Selection Committees should comprise of the following members: (a) The Chief Justice of India or his nominee-Chairperson (with a casting vote). (b) The outgoing Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal in case of appointment of the Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal (or) the sitting Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal in case of appointment of other members of the Tribunal (or) a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court in case the Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal is not a Judicial member or if the Chairman or Chairperson or President of the Tribunal is seeking re-appointment-member; (c) Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India-m....
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....of their experience and knowledge in the specialized branch of law. (viii) Rule 8 of the 2020 Rules shall be amended to reflect that the recommendations of the Search-cum-Selection Committee in matters of disciplinary actions shall be final and the recommendations of the Search-cum-Selection Committee shall be implemented by the Central Government. (ix) The Union of India shall make appointments to Tribunals within three months from the date on which the Search-cum-Selection Committee completes the selection process and makes its recommendations. (x) The 2020 Rules shall have prospective effect and will be applicable from 12.02.2020, as per Rule 1(2) of the 2020 Rules. (xi) Appointments made prior to the 2017 Rules are governed by the parent Acts and Rules which established the concerned Tribunals. In view of the interim orders passed by the Court in Rojer Mathew (supra), appointments made during the pendency of Rojer Mathew (supra) were also governed by the parent Acts and Rules. Any appointments that were made after the 2020 Rules came into force i.e. on or after 12.02.2020 shall be governed by the 2020 Rules subject to the modifications direct....
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....s renders them credible and generates public confidence. We have noticed a disturbing trend of the Government not implementing the directions issued by this Court. To ensure that the Tribunals should not function as another department under the control of the executive, repeated directions have been issued which have gone unheeded forcing the Petitioner to approach this Court time and again. It is high time that we put an end to this practice. Rules are framed which are completely contrary to the directions issued by this Court. Upon the tribunals has devolved the task of marking boundaries of what is legally permissible and feasible (as opposed to what is not lawful and is indefensible) conduct, in a normative sense guiding future behavior of those subject to the jurisdictions of such tribunals. This task is rendered even more crucial, given that appeals against their decisions lie directly to the Supreme Court and public law intervention on the merits of such decisions is all but excluded. Also, these tribunals are expected to be consistent, and therefore, adhere to their precedents, inasmuch as they oversee regulatory behavior in several key areas of the economy. Therefore, it i....