Price Tribunal Declared Properly Constituted

Chronicle (Levin), 7 October 1949, Page 7

Price Tribunal Declared Properly Constituted

WELLINGTON, Oct 6. The Price Tribunal, when it issueo oriee order 1001 setting the deadline at ( which appreciation of the £ New Zealand would apply, was vaiidy eonstitdted. This decision was made by Mr Jusice Hay m a Supreme Court judgment. fhe yalidity of the order ha'd been h&llenged in Court earlier this \yeek by P. E. Jackson and Co., Ltd., for whom Mr A. K. North K.C., with him. Mr A. M. Cousins, appeared. The Tr. runal was represented by the Solicitor! 4eneTal,.'Mr H. 'E. Evans K.O., •with lim Mr E. J. Haughey.. It had been argued for plaintifO com pany, said his Honour, that the provisions of the Control of Prices Aet 1947. .ireseribing persons on the tribunal and L,te nature of their -appointment, were imperative and. mandatory and that iu the absence of any appointment of. associate inembers, there never had been i properly constituted Price Tribunal His Honour noted -that ,an associnie member did not coastitute piirt of the qnorum nor was he eligible to preside at a sitting of the Tribunal. The purpose of appointing associate members .vas because tney were persons possessof expert knowledge of some branol. of trade or industry. Sections 5 and 6 of the Aet contaiaed something mort than mere machmery provisions. They made in clear that the Tribunal might function completely without associate. .nembers. •. tt would be strange if, in these cirmmstances, the Court were to find it self compelled to say that the non-ap-pointmcnt of associate members invalidated all porceedings of the Tribunal since the Act came into force, said his Honour. Any such conclusiun would niean that regard was to be paid more to form than substanee and would ui\/olve a contradiction of ihe principle that every act is to reeeive such falr, large and iiberal constitution and mterpretati'on as will best ensure the at- . tainment of its objeet. "It seems to me that where at least two members (other than associate members) aiv present, the sitting is deeined to be one of a validlv constituted bouy. There is 110 suggestion that persona who, in fact, sat as the Tribunal when price order 1001 was made/ were rfoi, duly appomted meinbers under the pro visions of section 3."