Citation

1. This Order may be cited as the Lands Tribunal (War Damage Appeals Jurisdiction) Order, 1950.

Interpretation

2.-(1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say:-

(a)"The principal Act" means the War Damage Act, 1943;

(b)"The Act of 1945" means the War Damage (Valuation Appeals) Act, 1945;

(c)"The Lands Tribunal Act" means the Lands Tribunal Act, 1949;

(d)"The 1949 Rules" means the Lands Tribunal Rules, 1949(1) ;

(e)"An appeal" means an appeal from a determination of the Commission under subsection (2) of section thirty-two of the principal Act;

(f)"Appellant" means any person interested at whose instance an appeal is instituted;

(g)"A reference" means a reference under subsection (4) or subsection (5) of section thirty-two of the principal Act;

(h)"Person interested", in relation to an appeal, means any person at whose instance an appeal in respect of a particular hereditament will lie under subsection (2) of section thirty-two of the principal Act, and, in relation to a reference, means any person for whose agreement subsection (4) or subsection (5) of section thirty-two of the principal Act provides ;

(i)"The Commission" means the War Damage Commission;

(j)"The tribunal" means the member or members of the Lands Tribunal selected to deal with the case under the provisions of subsection (2) of section three of the Lands Tribunal Act and this Order;

(k)"The President" means the President of the Lands Tribunal or the member appointed under the provisions of the Lands Tribunal Act to act for the time being as deputy for the President;

(l)"The registrar" and "the office" mean respectively the registrar and the office for the time being of the Lands Tribunal.

(2) A form referred to by letter means the form so lettered in the First Schedule to this Order.

(3) The Interpretation Act, 1889 shall apply for the purposes of the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

PART ITRANSFER OF JURISDICTION AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

3. Subject to the succeeding provisions of this Part of this Order any appeal from a determination of the Commission under subsection (2) of section thirty-two of the principal Act, and any reference under subsection (4) or subsection (5) of section thirty-two of the principal Act which, but for this Order, would lie or could be made to a tribunal constituted under Part I of the Schedule to the Act of 1945, shall lie or be made to the Lands Tribunal.

4.-(1) This Order shall not apply to an appeal or a reference if before the date on which this Order comes into operation the appeal or reference has been made to a tribunal constituted under the Schedule to the Act of 1945, and at the commencement of this Order the hearing of the appeal or reference has been begun.

(2) Where, before the date on which this Order comes into operation, proceedings have been commenced for the determination of any question, dispute, or other matter which by this Order is required to be referred to and determined by the Lands Tribunal, but the hearing has not been begun at that date, anything done for the purpose of those proceedings shall be treated so far as practicable as if it had been done for the purpose of an appeal, reference or application under this Order, but without prejudice to the exercise by the President, the tribunal or the registrar respectively of their full powers under this Order in relation to the proceedings.

PART IIAPPEALS AGAINST DETERMINATIONS OF THE COMMISSION UNDER SECTION 32 (2) OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

5. This Part of this Order applies to any appeal under subsection (2) of section thirty-two of the principal Act and the provisions of Part I of the 1949 Rules shall not apply to any such appeal.

Notice of appeal

6. An appeal may be instituted by sending to the registrar in duplicate a written notice of appeal substantially in accordance with form A or form B, whichever is appropriate. Every notice of appeal shall contain a statement that the appellant does, or that he does not, propose to call an expert witness at the hearing of the appeal.

Time for giving notice

7. A notice of appeal shall not be valid unless it is given by a person interested and is sent to the registrar before the expiration of sixty clear days from the date of the determination of the Commission in respect of which the appeal is instituted.

Entry of appeal

8.-(1) Upon receiving a notice of appeal the registrar shall enter particulars of the appeal in the Register of Appeals against Determinations and shall forthwith send a duplicate notice to the Commission and shall inform the appellant and the Commission of the number of the appeal entered in the register, which shall thereafter constitute the title of the appeal.

(2) Upon receiving the duplicate notice of appeal the Commission shall forthwith send to the registrar a copy of the determination referred to therein.

Notification of appeal to interested parties

9. Upon receipt of a duplicate notice of appeal the Commission shall forthwith send to every person appearing to the Commission to be a person interested a notice informing him of the appeal and shall send to the registrar a list of names and addresses of the persons interested to whom they have sent such notices.

Power to require further particulars

10.-(1) Subject to any directions which may be given by the President, the registrar may, at any time after receiving a notice of appeal, require an appellant to furnish a statement setting our further and better particulars of the grounds of appeal and any facts and contentions relevant thereto.

(2) The appellant shall, within such time as may be prescribed by the registrar, not being less than fourteen days after the date of the requirement, send such a statement to the registrar in duplicate and shall send copies thereof to such other appellant, if any, being an appellant who has given notice of appeal against the same determination, as the registrar may direct.

(3) Upon receipt of the statement the registrar shall forthwith send a duplicate copy thereof to the Commission.

More than one appeal from the same determination

11.-(1) Where two or more persons interested in respect of a single hereditament have separately given notice of appeal from the same determination of the Commission, the appeals shall be heard together as one appeal.

(2) The President may, in any such case, if it appears to him that the contentions put forward by any two or more appellants are substantially the same, direct that one of those appellants shall alone be entitled to appear at the hearing of the appeal, and may require the appellants concerned, within such period as he may allow, to select, or, failing their selection within the period allowed, may himself select, one of their number to represent them jointly in the conduct of the appeal:

Provided that any appellant who claims that he would be prejudiced by such a direction may, within the period allowed by the President, apply to the President for leave to appear separately at the hearing of the appeal, and the President may thereupon, in his discretion, either adhere to or revise his direction, or give such other direction as to the appearance, and order of appearance, of the appellants at the hearing of the appeal as he may think just in the circumstances.

(3) The registrar shall forthwith send notice of any direction given by the President under this Article to each appellant and to the Commission.

(4) The Commission shall, at the request of the registrar, furnish the President with any information required by him for the purpose of exercising his powers under this Article, and, in particular, information as to the land constituting the hereditament as determined by the Commission under section five of the principal Act and as to the nature of the proprietary or other interest in the hereditament of any person interested.

Power to require particulars of determination

12. The President or the tribunal may at any time request the Commission to furnish particulars of any determination of the Commission which appear to be requisite for the decision of the appeal, and thereupon the Commission shall furnish the particulars to the registrar and to the appellant.

Appellant limited to grounds of appeal

13. On the hearing of an appeal the appellant shall not be entitled to rely upon any ground of appeal not stated in his notice of appeal or in his statement of grounds of appeal unless the tribunal thinks it just in all the circumstances, and on such terms as to costs or adjournment or otherwise as it may think fit, to allow such additional ground of appeal to be put forward as may appear to it to be material.

Protection of persons interested not parties to an appeal

14. If at the hearing of an appeal it appears to the tribunal that the appellant has established a prima facie case for varying the determination of the Commission and that the variation may affect prejudicially a person interested who is not a party to the appeal, the tribunal may, before deciding the appeal, afford an opportunity to that person to be joined as a party to the appeal and to be heard by the tribunal, and may give such directions as may be requisite for the purpose.

PART IIIREFERENCES UNDER SUBSECTION (4) AND SUBSECTION (5) OF SECTION 32 OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT

Time for instituting reference

15. A reference may be instituted at any time after the persons interested have failed to agree on any question which, under subsection (4) or subsection (5) of section thirty-two of the principal Act, falls in the first instance to be determined by agreement.

Methods of instituting reference

16. A reference may be instituted by sending to the registrar either-

(a)a joint submission substantially in Form C signed by all the persons interested; or

(b) an ex parte notice of reference substantially in Form D signed by a person interested and by any other person interested whose interests in the questions submitted for reference are substantially the same (together hereinafter called "the originating party"), and of which a duplicate copy has on the day of the date thereof been sent by the originating party to each of the other persons interested.

Entry of reference

17. Upon the receipt of the registrar of a joint submission or of an ex parte notice of reference, particulars thereof shall be entered in the Register of References, and the registrar shall inform each person interested who signed the joint submission or the ex parte notice of reference, as the case may be, and any person to whom a duplicate copy of the ex parte notice has been sent under the last preceding Article, of the number of the reference which shall thereafter constitute the title of the proceedings.

Procedure where reference has been instituted by ex parte notice

18. Where a reference is instituted by an ex parte notice of reference, any person interested who disagrees with any statement of fact or contention set out therein shall within thirty days of the date of the notice of reference send to the registrar and to the originating party a counter statement-

(a)showing to what extent he admits or does not admit the accuracy of the facts stated by the originating party;

(b)setting out such further facts (if any) as he considers are material and relevant and the contentions and values which he will advance at the hearing of the reference; and

(c)stating the names of the other persons interested (if any) who desire to support his case and whose interests he has been requested to represent at the hearing.

A party to a reference limited to the contentions set out in his notice or counter statement

19. At the hearing of a reference instituted by an ex parte notice no person shall be entitled to rely on any contentions not set out in the notice or in the counter statement submitted by him or on his behalf, unless the tribunal thinks it just in the circumstances, and on such terms as to costs or adjournment or otherwise as it may think fit.

Notification of tribunal's decision

20. The registrar shall send a copy of the decision of the tribunal on a reference to each person interested and to the Commission.

Address of person interested unknown

21. If in connection with a reference the address of any person who appears to be a person interested is unknown, the President shall give such directions as he may think expedient to secure that the interests of that person shall not be disregarded, and the tribunal shall, if it is satisfied that any proprietary interest in the hereditament (being a proprietary interest in respect of which that person is entitled to claim part of the value payment) was depreciated in value by reason of the war damage, determine the extent to which the said proprietary interest was so depreciated.

PART IVPROCEDURE

22. The provisions of Parts V and VI of the 1949 Rules shall, in relation to proceedings under Part II or Part III of this Order, have effect subject to the provisions of this Part of this Order.

23. Where a request is made to the tribunal that an appeal or a reference, or some part thereof, should be heard in private, the tribunal may, if it is satisfied that any person would be likely to be prejudiced by the disclosure in public of any facts relating to the hereditament under consideration or otherwise, sit in private to such extent as it thinks just.

24. On an appeal or a reference as to either of two amounts the difference between which it is material for any of the purposes of the principal Act to ascertain, the tribunal shall determine the other of those amounts also.

25. Rule 23 of the 1949 Rules shall have effect subject to the provisions of Article 11 of this Order.

26. Rule 52 of the 1949 Rules shall not apply.

PART VAPPLICATION TO NORTHERN IRELAND

27. The provisions of this Part of this Order shall have effect as respects any appeal or any reference relating to a hereditament in Northern Ireland.

Hearing of cases stated

28. Any case stated for the decision of the court under subsection (4) of section three of the Lands Tribunal Act shall be heard by His Majesty's Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland.

Taxation of costs

29. If the tribunal directs that the costs of a party to the proceedings shall be paid by any other party thereto, the tribunal may, instead of proceeding in accordance with paragraph (2) of Rule 42 of the 1949 Rules, direct that the costs shall be taxed by the Taxing Master of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland.

Application of Arbitration Act (Northern Ireland), 1937

30.-(1) The provisions of the Arbitration Act (Northern Ireland), 1937, set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Order shall apply to all proceedings before the tribunal; and, where the tribunal is acting as arbitrator under a reference by consent, the provisions of that Act set out in Part II of the said Schedule shall also apply.

(2) Rule 35 of and the Second Schedule to the 1949 Rules shall not apply.

PART VIREVOCATION OF PREVIOUS RULES, PROVISION FOR VARIATION OF THIS ORDER AND COMMENCEMENT

31. The provisions of Part II, Part III and Part IV of this Order may be revoked or varied by Rules made under the Lands Tribunal Act.

32. The War Damage (Valuation Appeals and References) Rules, 1946(2), the War Damage (Valuation Appeals and References) (Amendment) Rules, 1947(3), and the War Damage (Valuation Appeals and References) (Amendment) Rules, 1948(4), are hereby revoked.

33. This Order shall come into force on the seventeenth day of April, 1950.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Article 6

FORM ANotice of Appeal in respect of the War Damage Commission's determination of the kind of payment

Article 6

FORM BNotice of Appeal in respect of the War Damage Commission's determination of the amount of a value payment

Article 16

FORM CJoint submission of reference under subsection [(4)] or [(5)] of section 32 of the War Damage Act, 1943

Article 16

FORM DEx parte notice of reference under subsection [(4)] or [(5)] of section 32 of the War Damage Act, 1943

Article 30

SECOND SCHEDULEPROVISIONS OF THE ARBITRATION ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND), 1937, APPLICABLE TO PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE LANDS TRIBUNAL IN RESPECT OF HEREDITAMENTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

PART IProvisions applicable to all proceedings

• Sections thirteen, fourteen, sixteen and twenty-four.

• Subsection (1) of section twenty-one .

• Subsection (4) of section twenty-three .

• Paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 8 of the First Schedule.

• The Second Schedule, except paragraph 3 thereof.

PART IIAdditional provisions applicable where Lands Tribunal is acting as arbitrator

• Sections two, three, four and nineteen .

• Subsection (1) of section one .

• Subsections (2) and (3) of section twenty-three.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

1. Under the War Damage (Valuation Appeals) Act, 1945, the jurisdiction to decide certain questions arising under the War Damage Act, 1943, was conferred on the War Damage Valuation Appeals Panel. The purpose of this Order, which is made under section 4 of the Lands Tribunal Act, 1949, is to transfer that jurisdiction to the Lands Tribunal.

2. Part I transfers the jurisdiction as from 17th April, 1950, but allows the existing Panel to decide any case the hearing of which has been begun before that date.

3. Parts II, III and IV deal with procedure. Their effect is, broadly speaking, to apply the Lands Tribunal Rules, 1949 (which form the general code governing the work of the Lands Tribunal), with modifications which govern the existing Panel's procedure by virtue of Rules made under the Act of 1945. (The latter Rules are revoked by Part VI.)

4. Part V contains modifications applicable only to Northern Ireland.