Section 16
Section 16
In any case where it appears to the competent authority that a licensing body—
(a)
is unreasonably refusing to grant licences in respect of copyright; or
(b)
is imposing unreasonable terms or conditions on the granting of such licences, the competent authority may direct that, as respects the doing of any act relating to a work with which the licensing body is concerned, a licence shall be deemed to have been granted by the licensing body at the time the act is done, provided the appropriate fees fixed by such competent authority are paid or tendered before the expiratiton of such periods as the competent authority may determine.
(2)
In this section—
"competent authority" means an authority consisting of three persons one of whom shall be the Chairman appointed from time to time by the Minister for the purpose of exercising jurisdiction under the provisions of this Act;
"licensing body" means a society, firm or other organization which has as its main object, or one of its main objects, the negotiation or granting of licences in respect of copyright works, and includes an individual carrying on the same activity.
(3)
The Chairman of the competent authority shall be a person who holds, has held or is qualified for the office of a judge of the High Court, and the other members shall be appointed from among such other persons as appear to the Minister to be suitably qualified for membership:
Provided that no person shall be appointed under the provisions of this section, nor shall any person so appointed act, as a member of the competent authority, if he, his partner, his employer or any body (whether statutory or not) of which he is a member has any pecuniary interest in any matter which requires to be determined by such authority.
(4)
The Minister, where he makes any appointment under the last preceding subsection affecting a person who holds the office of a judge of the High Court, shall do so in accordance with the advice of the Lord President of the Federal Court.
(5)
Where a member of the competent authority is not a judge or public officer—
(a)
he shall be paid such remuneration and other allowances (if any) as may be specified by the Minister by order published in the Gazette; and
(b)
he shall be deemed to be public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Penal Code, but shall not otherwise be regarded as holding office in any of the public services by reason of his membership of the competent authority.
(6)
No appeal shall lie from a decision of the competent authority.
(b)
prescribing the procedure to be adopted by the competent authority in dealing with any matter referred to it under this Act and the records to be kept by the competent authority;
(c)
prescribing the manner in which the competent authority shall be convened and the place where the competent authority shall hold its sittings;
(7)
No action or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in or in connection with the exercise of the competent authority's functions under this Act.
(a)
prescribing the manner in which any matter may be referred to the competent authority;
(8)
The Minister shall make regulations governing the proceedings before the competent authority and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations—
(d)
prescribing a scale of costs and fees; and
(e)
generally for the better carrying out of the functions assigned to the competent authority by this Act.