Section 33: Allocation by the Commission

(1) When the parties to the trade dispute appear before the Commission, the Commission— (a) shall seek to resolve the trade dispute by assisting the parties in conducting negotiations between themselves in order to arrive at an amicable settlement, within thirty days of the first appearance of the parties before the Commission; or (b) in the event where, according to clause (a), efforts to resolve the trade dispute through negotiations fail, shall assess the quantum of the claim and if it satisfies the minimum threshold, as may be prescribed by rules for the suit to be filed in the commercial bench of the High Court, the Commission shall refer the matter to a commercial bench of a High Court pursuant to section 52; or (c) in the event that the quantum of the claim does not meet the minimum threshold required for the suit to be filed in the commercial bench of the High Court, shall seek consent of the parties to do any one or more of the following, in any order, namely:— (i) refer the dispute to conciliation in accordance with section 42; or (ii) refer the dispute to arbitration in accordance with section 48; or (iii) Initiate proceedings to reach a final determination. (d) in the case of any reference made under clause (c), direct at any stage that the matter be finally resolved within a specified time period, or (2) If any time limit imposed under clause (d) of sub-section (1) is not complied with, and unless otherwise agreed by all parties to the dispute at any time, the conciliation or arbitration proceedings shall be terminated and the matter shall then revert to the Commission, pending any further direction by the Commission; or (3) Any time limit imposed under clause (d) of sub-section (1) may be extended at any stage by direction of the Commission, or by agreement of all Parties, which shall be notified to the Commission in writing. (4) In exercising its discretion under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3), the Commission shall take into account— (a) the amount in dispute: (b) the nature and legal or factual complexity of the dispute; (c) the location of the parties; and (d) the commercial position as between the parties and any particular requirements they may have with respect to dispute resolution such as speed, cost effectiveness, confidentiality and enforceability.

Effective date: 2023-08-11

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