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NATIONAL UNION OF HOTELS AND PERSONAL SERVICES WORKERS AND 1. HOTEL DIPLOMAT LIMITED 2. AREFROZ (NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT) HON. JUSTICE B.A.ADEJUMO - PRESIDENT PROF. B.B. KANYIP - MEMBER BARR. M.B. DADDA - MEMBER SUIT NO: - NIC/8/2001 DATE OF RULING - 8TH JUNE, 2005 LABOUR LAW National Industrial Court - Action therein-Discontinuance of - Procedure therefor -Whether the court has discretion to depart therefrom - Rules 4 and 21, National Industrial Court Rules. LABOUR LAW National Industrial Court -Law, equity and fairness - Attitude of thereto. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT Discontinuance of suit -Action before the National industrial Court - Discontinuance of - Procedure therefor - Whether the court has discretion to depart therefrom - Rules 4 and 21, National Industrial Court Rules. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT Law, equity and fairness - Attitude of National Industrial Court thereto. ISSUE Whether the National Industrial Court has the discretion to depart from the procedure for discontinuing an action pending before it. FACTS The Applicant sued the Respondents before the National Industrial Court for interpretation of some collective agreements. The parties duly filed their respect memoranda and adopted their written briefs in the matter. Subsequently, the Applicant applied to withdraw the matter on the ground that the part had settled the matter. However, the Applicant’s counsel did not comply with the proced for withdrawal of an action pending before the court. HELD (Striking out the suit): 1. On Discretion of the National Industrial Court in respect of procedure discontinuing an action pending before it - Rule 21 of the National Industrial Court Rules stipulates the procedure for discontinuing an action pending before the court. The court can, however, look at t provisions of Rule 4 of its Rules, which gives the court the discretion to depart from Rule 21. In the instant case, the counsel to the Applicant did not comply with the provisions of the said Rules in its application for withdrawal. However, in the absence of any counter-claim by the Respondent, the court departed from Rule 21and granted leave to the Applicant to discontinue the action. 2. On Attitude of National lndustrial Court to law, equity and fairness - The National Industrial Court is a court of law, equity and fairness. Fair hearing an good conscience demands that the court under its fairness principle should consider allowing an Applicant to have a say in a matter pending before it. In the instant cast the court considered the Respondents’ application to postpone the judgment of thE court fixed for 30 January, 2004 and to be heard in the suit and granted same