Section 5. Term of office of Chairperson and Member of Tribunal

5. Term of office of Chairperson and Member of Tribunal .—Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, order or decree of any court, or in any law for the time being in force,— (i) the Chairperson of a Tribunal shall hold office for a term of four years or till he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier; (ii) the Member of a Tribunal shall hold office for a term of four years or till he attains the age of sixty-seven years, whichever is earlier: Provided that where a Chairperson or Member is appointed between the 26th day of May, 2017 and the notified date, and the term of his office or the age of retirement specified in the order of appointment issued by the Central Government is greater than that which is specified in this section, then, notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the term of office or age of retirement or both, as the case may be, of the Chairperson or Member shall be as specified in his order of appointment, subject to a maximum term of office of five years. 5. Plant Varieties Protection Appellate Tribunal under Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer's Rights Act, 2001 (53 of 2001). __________ STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS The Government of India began the process of rationalisation of tribunals in 2015. By the Finance Act, 2017, seven tribunals were abolished or merged based on functional similarity and their total number was reduced from 26 to 19. The rationale followed in the first phase was to close down tribunals which were not necessary and merge tribunals with similar functions.