Part V Administrative and General

Agricultural Land Tribunals

73 Establishment, constitution and procedure of Agricultural Land F7Tribunal.

F81

For Wales, there shall continue to be an Agricultural Land Tribunal with the duty of hearing and determining references and applications made to the Agricultural Land Tribunal under any enactment.

2

The provisions in that behalf of the Ninth Schedule to this Act shall have effect as to the constitution of F9the Agricultural Land Tribunal and otherwise in relation thereto.

C1C23

F1The Lord Chancellor may by order make provision for the procedure of F10the Agricultural Land Tribunal, and in particular—

F2aa

as to the manner in which applications are to be made to the F12Agricultural Land Tribunal and the time within which they are made;

a

for the taking of evidence on oath, affirmation or otherwise, the cross-examination of witnesses, and for the summoning of witnesses in like manner as for the purposes of an arbitration under F3the M1Agricultural Holdings Act 1986;

b

for the recording and proof of the decisions of the F13Agricultural Land Tribunal, and for enabling the F13Agricultural Land Tribunal to decide by a majority;

c

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

F11d

for the transfer of proceedings for the purposes of section 42 of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 (procedure where deceased held more than one holding), where the determination of associated applications concerns one or more holdings in Wales and one or more holdings in England.

4

An order under the last foregoing subsection may make different provision for the procedure on different classes of reference F5or application to F15the Agricultural Land Tribunal .

F65

F14The Agricultural Land Tribunal may, for the purpose of hearing and determining applications and references made to them under any enactment, sit in two or more divisions, and, in relation to the hearing and determination of any such application or reference by such a division, that division shall be deemed to be the Tribunal.

74 Proceedings before Agricultural Land Tribunal on reference of Minister’s proposals.

1

In any case where by any of the provisions of this Act a person is empowered to require that a proposal of the Minister to take any action shall be referred to the Agricultural Land Tribunal, then if within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner the said person so requires, the proposal shall be referred accordingly.

2

On any such reference the Tribunal shall determine—

a

whether the conditions as to which the Minister must be satisfied before taking the action are fulfilled, and

b

whether, having regard to their determination under the foregoing paragraph and to all the circumstances of the case, the Minister should or should not take the action proposed,

and shall report to the Minister accordingly; and the Minister shall forward a copy of the report to any person who availed himself of an opportunity to make representations to the Minister afforded to him under the provisions in question of this Act.

3

In any such case as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section the Minister shall not give effect to the proposal until the expiration of the period within which a reference to the Tribunal may be required.

4

Where such a reference is duly required the Minister shall act in accordance with the report of the Tribunal and not otherwise.

5

Forthwith after taking action in any such case as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section the Minister shall serve notice thereof in writing on any person who under the provisions in question of this Act was entitled to be afforded an opportunity to make representations to the Minister.