Merchant Shipping Act 1894

Decision of disputes by superintendent.

387

387.(1) A superintendent shall inquire into, hear, and determine any dispute, either between the owner of a fishing boat and the skipper or a seaman of the boat, or between the skipper of a fishing boat and any seaman of the boat concerning—

(i) the skipper’s or seaman’s wages or his share in the profits of the voyage or trip or a fishing catch, or any deduction therefrom; or

(ii) the skipper’s or seaman’s engagement, service, or discharge; or

(iii) the cost, quantity, or quality, of the provisions supplied to the crew;

if any party to the dispute calls on him to decide it, and his decision thereon shall be final and binding on all persons.

(2) The decision shall, on the request of any party to the dispute, be put into writing, and any such written decision, if purporting to be signed by the superintendent, shall be admissible in evidence in manner provided by this Act.

(3) The decision may be enforced by any justice of the peace, within whose jurisdiction the person or goods of any one against whom the decision is given may be found, in the same manner as if the decision were an order made by a court of summary jurisdiction, and a skipper or seaman may also recover any sum adjudged due to him by any such decision as if it were wages.

(4) A superintendent for the purpose of hearing and determining any such dispute shall have all the powers of a Board of Trade inspector under this Act.