Question

elucidate the industrial adjudication as a modality of harmonizin intrests of capital and labour

Answer 1

The adjudicatory authorities, viz., Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals and

National Tribunals, as provided under the Industrial Disputes Act are specialized

Tribunals functioning outside the hierarchy of ordinary courts and are entrusted with

the task of adjudication of industrial disputes. Although, mainly they have to

adjudicate upon the disputes that are referred to them by the appropriate

Governments, in exceptional cases, the parties also may make application to these

bodies for adjudication of certain claims.

The Chief objective ofthe I.D.Act is to ensure peaceful settlement ofindustrial

disputes through the compulsory adjudication method as an alternative to strikes and

lockouts, which are inherent in the process of collective bargaining. Compulsory

adjudication may be considered as the soul ofthe I.D.Act. Majority ofthe provisions

of the I.D.Act, as originally enacted, deal with the adjudication machinery and the

related aspects. Malthotra rightly commented, “the central theme of the Act is

adjudication”1. By and large, adjudication of disputes for bringing about a mandatory

settlement is resorted to as the ultimate remedy for disputes unsettled through

negotiation or conciliation.