13. As stated earlier, section 36 deals with representation of the parties. Neither the Act nor section 36 provides for appearance of the parties themselves when they are individu- als or companies or corporations. The Tribunals and the Labour Courts being quasi-judicial authorities dealing with rights affecting the parties cannot adjudicate their disputes in absence of the parties. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Tribunals and Labour Courts to afford reasonable opportunity to the parties to appear before them and hear them while adjudicating industrial disputes. This position is indisputable. Section 36, therefore, is not exhaustive in the sense that besides the persons specified therein there cannot be any other lawful mode of appearance of the parties as such. As indicated earlier section 36 does not appear to take count of companies and corporations as employers. It is, however, common knowledge that industrial disputes are raised in a predominantly large number of cases where companies or corporations are involved. Since companies and corporations have necessarily to appear through some human agency there is nothing in law to prevent them from being represented in any lawful manner. As Salmond says :, "Every legal person, therefore, has corresponding to it in the world of natural persons certain agents or representatives by whom it acts .................... "(Salmond on Jurisprudence, 12th Edition, page 312.) It is not intended under the Act that companies and corporations are confined to representation of their cases only through the officers specified in section 36(2) of the Act. They can be represented by their directors or their own officers authorised to act in that behalf in a lawful manner provided it is not contrary to any provision of the Act. This would not, however, mean that the companies and corporations, and for the matter of that any party, are free to engage legal practitioners by
