CONFIDENTIAL
3.-
機密
XCC(70)56
14
So far as possible, it will be the duty of the Court Inspector to establish the facts of a dispute before it is heard before a labour court. During the hearing, each party will be allowed to make a statement and to call witnesses and question witnesses called by the other party.
15
The technical rules of evidence, however, will not apply in a labour court and it will be for the Presiding Officer to decide what weight he will give to the various kinds of evidence produced before him.
16
If both parties wish a case to be heard in private, the Presiding Officer may agree to this, but it will be for him to decide in each case whether or not to exclude the public and the press from the hearing.
Presiding Officer
17
It is recommended that initially one court should be established with a District Judge (or a Principal Magistrate) as Presiding Officer. The District Judge (or Principal Magistrate) concerned would specialise in the field of labour legislation and familiarise himself with all aspects of industrial employment, but would be available to undertake ordinary District Court work if his time is not fully occupied in the labour court.
18
It is thought that the introduction of labour courts may help conciliation officers in arranging for the voluntary settlement of disputes. The labour relation service of the Labour Department dealt with 3, 500 disputes in 1969/70, about 3/4 of which were settled by con- ciliation. Not all of the unsettled disputes would fall within the jurisdiction of the labour courts but it is thought that something like 500 cases a year might be expected to come before the labour courts, a number which may increase if the courts proved to be as simple and as effective as is hoped.
Court Inspector
19
It is considered that an officer, to be called a Court Inspector, should be appointed to deal with the preliminary stages of disputes which are brought before the court and to act as a link between the Labour Department and the court. The post will need to be graded at a high enough level to attract an officer of the necessary calibre. He will need to be fully conversant with labour matters, capable of inspiring confidence in both employers and employees and have a sound working knowledge of court procedure.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密