Tribunals form an integral part of the Indian justice system. Their failure to achieve the objective of efficient dispute resolution has led to widespread recognition of the need for administrative reforms of tribunals. The Union Government has attempted to achieve this by passing rules to rationalise and consolidate tribunal administration, but these attempts have been the subject of numerous challenges in the Supreme Court of India. Over the course of these challenges, the idea of creating a ‘National Tribunals Commission’ (NTC) to independently appoint, supervise, and administer tribunals has emerged as a solution. Various rulings of the Supreme Court over time have directed the Union Government to set up an NTC. Tribunals at the state level too would benefit from a state tribunals commission. There has been little progress in this area.

DAKSH draft paper ‘A Framework for the National Tribunal Commission’ discusses relevant constitutional, organisational, and operational considerations, and identifies the framework required to enable the NTC to achieve its goals. The draft paper also recommends an implementation plan, factoring in pragmatic considerations.

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