Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026.
2. (2) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

1. (a) “Chairperson” includes Chairperson, Chairman, President and Presiding Officer of a Tribunal, but does not include the Chairperson of the Commission;
2. (b) “Chairperson of the Commission” means the Chairperson of the National Tribunals Commission;
3. (c) “Commission” means the National Tribunals Commission established under section 3;
4. (d) “Member” includes Vice-Chairman, Vice-Chairperson, Vice-President, Accountant Member, Administrative Member, Judicial Member, Expert Member, Law Member and Technical Member of a Tribunal;
5. (e) “Member of the Commission” means a Judicial Member or a Technical Member of the National Tribunals Commission;
6. (f) “National Tribunals Data Grid” means a portal containing the repository of all case related information pertaining to Tribunals specified in the First Schedule;
7. (g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
8. (h) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Commission under section 19;
   • (i) “Schedule” means a Schedule appended to this Act;
9. (j) “Search-cum-Selection Committee” means a Search-cum-Selection Committee constituted under section 13;
10. (k) “Secretariat” means the Secretariat of the Commission referred to in section 8; and
11. (l) “Tribunal” means a Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal or Authority as specified in column

1. (2) of the First Schedule.