§ Sir R. Rankinasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether it has been brought to his notice that two appeals by shipmasters from courts appointed by his Ministry from judgments wherein they had been adjudged guilty of incompetency, and their certificates suspended, have recently been sustained by the Admiralty Divisional Court when the President criticised the methods of the lower courts; and whether he is satisfied that the constitution of the lower courts is adequate?
§ Mr. Noel-BakerYes, Sir. My attention has been called to the cases to which my hon. Friend refers. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, enables the Minister, when he has reason to believe that a certificated officer is from incompetency or misconduct unfit to discharge his duties, to cause an inquiry to be held.1960W When such inquiries are held, as they were in these cases, by a local marine board or a person appointed by the Minister provision is made for competent legal assistance but no provision is made for the assistance of professional assessors, as in the case of an inquiry into a shipping casualty, nor are there any prescribed rules of procedure. The Divisional Court regarded this as unsatisfactory. Although my Noble Friend is satisfied that for certain types of cases these courts are satisfactory as regards both constitution and procedure, he had already come to the conclusion that cases such as those mentioned by my hon. Friend should be referred to a differently constituted tribunal and, accordingly, Regulation 47CA of the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939, was made in April last. This enables the Minister, by appointing a Wreck Commissioner to hold an inquiry of this kind, to provide a court which, as regards its constitution and procedure, would be the same as in the case of an inquiry into a shipping casualty.