The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1921. THE ARBITRATION COURT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 98, 19 January 1921, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1921. THE ARBITRATION COURT

Most people who are interested from any standpoint in industrial affairs will agree that for years past the Arbitration Court has been losing ground in popular estimation, and not altogether without just cause. It is true th|it the Court has often been assailed . unreasonably and in a spirit of irritation because it did not confer impossible benefits, but even amongst those who abstain from extravagant criticism of this kind there is a widespread opinion that it ijills decidedly short of what an industrial tribunal ought to be. This is less a reflection on successive Presidents of the Court than an inevitable outcome of the conditions in which they have been appointed and asked to carry out their duties. Although the work of the Arbitration Court is of the highest importance and needs , all the (application and concentration than can be Drought to bear upon it, its Presidents thus far have all been birds of passage. In every case they have been Supreme Court Judges, temporarily devoting the bulk of their time to the work of the Arbitration Court, but looking forward to a not very distant period when they would apply themselves to entirely different duties on the Supreme. Court Bench. Such conditions evidently were jncomplatible with the highly efficient specialisation which the work of the Arbitration Court demands. As long as the presidency of the Court remained a mere step-ping-stone to the Supreme Court Bench, its successive occupants were bound to look ahead to an extent instead of concentrating undividcdly on their immediate duties—indeed it is well known that some of them have found . these duties irksome and uncongenial. . In these circumstances the prestige /and popularity of the Court, as well as its efficiency, were, bound to decline. The Government has shown sound judgment in deciding , to amend this state of affairs. The announcement that Mb. F. V. Frazer is to succeed Mr. Justice Stringer as President of the Arbitration Court is accompanied by an intimation that Mr. Frazer will devote the whole, of his time to the work of the Arbitration Court. It is reported /also that Parliament will be asked to sanction .a new arrangement under which the Arbi, tration Court will Lie completely separated from the Supreme Court, so that the frequent transfer of Judges, which has done something at least to limit and impair efficiency, will be avoided. These changes should do something to rehabilitate the. Court in public estimation and give it the standing it ought to possess as a vital element in the industrial organisation of the Dominion. In view of his academic attainments and on his record, particularly as a member of Public Service Appeal boards and as an Assistant Public Service Commissioner. Mr. Frazer seems well qualified lor the highly responsible position to which he has been appointed, and undoubtedly be takes up his duties in the Arbitration Court under better and more promising conditions than his predecessors. Instead of being as it were detailed temporarily for special service, he is in (a position io regard these duties as a life-work and is offered every encouragement to concentrate undividedly, by intensive study and in other ways, on the problems with which he will be called upon to deal. Possibilities in the way of improving the present standing of the Court and extending the usefulness of the system of industrial regulation of which it is the keystone arc not,

of course, exhausted by the changes now ni'ado and projected in connection with the presidency of the Court, but in themselves these changes are on right lines and of good promise. It is desirable that the Arbitration Court should deal in the most comprehensive and authoritative way with the questions submitted to it for adjustment or adjudication. As the final legal authority where industrial disputes are concerned, it must give some of its time to the settlement of derail issues, but it would perform its most valuable function in stating plainly and with authority the circumstances and conditions which ultimately must govern the adjustment of industrial affairs. A considered survey of the industrial situation and its possibilities made periodically by the Court would do a- gr<|it deal to discredit wild theories and discourage the ill-con-sidered tactics in which some sections in industry are wont to indulge. The Court, has an essential part to play in any orderly system of industrial regulation, and the aim must be to give it the same high standing and authority in its own province |as attach to the Supreme Court in connection with the interpretation and enforcement of law and justice in its widest scope. The Arbitration Court will the more readily attain this standing if it is relieved as far as possible of the necessity of dealing with a mass of detail. At present there is an increasing tendency to settle detail disputes without reference to the Court, except in regfard to the registration of agreements, and there is room for further development on these lines. The present system of Conciliation Councils is not by any means the last word in machinery for the prompt settlement of disputes, and the experience of some other countries suggests that it would be advantageous to substitute a system of special tribunals, consisting of representatives of the parties concerned, with, an independent chiairman selected by these parties. While much may still be done in this way and others to strengthen the industrial arbitration system, there is no doubt that the new conditions in regard to the appointment of the President of the Court will make for improved efficiency. It is the more desirable that these reforms and others should lie forwarded in. a spirit of enterprise, since there is every likelihood that the popularity of the Court will be tested more severely during the next year or two tfyan at any time in its past history.