Order 53 — A. Jurisdiction of Chief Registrar

In this Order, any reference to the Chief Registrar means the Chief Registrar of the National Industrial Court and includes the Deputy Chief Registrar and an Assistant Chief Registrar.

The Chief Registrar may transact all such business and exercise all such authority and jurisdiction as may be transacted or exercised by a Judge in respect of the following matters:
(a) applications for the taxation and delivery of bills of costs and applications for the delivery by any Legal Practitioner of deeds, documents and papers;
(b) the taking of an account in any case where the Court or a Judge has ordered that the account be taken by the Chief Registrar; and
(c) the taxation of bills of costs.

Where any matter under rule 2 of this Order appears to the Chief Registrar proper for the decision of the Court or a Judge, the Chief Registrar may refer same to the President of the Court or the Administrative Judge or presiding Judge who referred the matter to the Chief Registrar. The President of the Court or the Administrative Judge or presiding Judge of the Court may either dispose of the matter or refer the same to the Chief Registrar with such directions as the Judge may deem fit.

Any person affected by an order or decision of the Chief Registrar in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred upon the Chief Registrar by this Order may appeal to the Court. Such appeal shall be by notice in writing to attend the Court without a fresh process within five (5) days after the decision complained of or such further time as may be allowed by the Court. Unless otherwise ordered, there shall be at least two (2) working days between service of the notice of appeal and the day of hearing. An appeal from the decision of the Chief Registrar shall not operate as a stay of proceedings unless so ordered by the Court.

List of matters to be heard by the Chief Registrar shall be published on the Court’s Notice Boards.

A Legal Practitioner may represent any party in any proceedings before the Chief Registrar under the jurisdiction vested in the Chief Registrar by this Order.

The Chief Registrar may with the approval of the President of the Court delegate to any Registrar of the Court any functions required by these Rules to be exercised by the Chief Registrar.

Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, the directions to be given or concerning any proceedings before the Chief Registrar shall require no particular form, but the result of such proceedings shall be stated in a concise certificate.

The Certificate of the Chief Registrar regarding account and inquiries shall not, unless the circumstances of the case render it necessary, set out the judgment or order or any documents or evidence or reasons but shall refer to the judgment or order, documents and evidence or particular paragraphs thereof, so that it may appear upon what the result stated in the certificate is founded.

(1) In cases of accounts and/or inquires, the Certificate of the Chief Registrar shall be in Form 41 with such variations or modifications as the circumstances may require.

(2) The certificate shall:
(a) state the result of the account and not set the same out by way of schedule,
(b) refer to the account verified by the affidavit filed,
(c) specify by the numbers attached to the items in the account which (if any) of such items that have been disallowed or varied, and
(d) state the additions (if any) that have been made by way of surcharge or otherwise.

(3) Where the Account verified by the Affidavit has been so altered that it is necessary to have a fair transcript of the Account as altered, such transcript may be required to be made by the party prosecuting the Judgment or order and shall then be referred to the Certificate; and

(4) The Accounts and transcripts (if any) referred to by certificates shall be filed therewith.

Every certificate with the accounts (if any) to be filed therewith shall be transmitted by the Chief Registrar to the Registry for filing and shall thereafter be binding on all the parties to the proceeding unless discharged or varied upon an application made to the Court before the expiration of eight (8) clear days after the filing of the certificate.

When taxing a bill of costs, the Chief Registrar shall indicate in red against every item disallowed, reduced or altered. The substance of the modification made by the Chief Registrar at the bottom of the bill of costs shall certify the net result of the taxation. The bill of costs shall then be transmitted by the Chief Registrar to the Registry for filing and the provisions of rule 10 of this Order shall apply in respect of such certificate.

The Court may, where the special circumstances of the case require, upon an application direct a certificate to be discharged or varied at any time after same has become binding on the parties.