Building Societies Act, 1989

PART VIII

Disputes and Complaints

Settlement of disputes.

91.—(1) Save as otherwise required by or under this Act, this section applies to—

(a) any dispute between a building society and a member of the society in his capacity as a member, or a representative of such a member in that capacity, in respect of any matter, rights or obligations arising from the rules of the society or any provision of this Act or statutory instrument under it, other than the construction or effect of a mortgage deed or of any other contract comprised in or based on a document other than the rules of the society, and

(b) any other dispute or class of dispute to which the rules of a society expressly apply it,

and, accordingly, in this section “dispute” means a dispute to which this section applies.

(2) Where the rules of a society so provide, the Circuit Court may hear and determine a dispute under this section and a determination of the dispute by the Circuit Court shall be final and binding on the parties and any persons claiming under them, but the Circuit Court may, at the request of a party to the dispute, state a case to the High Court on a point of law.

(3) Where the rules of a society provide that a dispute shall be determined by arbitration, the Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980, shall, subject to any necessary modifications, apply to that dispute, and—

(a) the rules shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be an arbitration agreement within the meaning of the Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980;

(b) arbitrators shall be named and selected in accordance with the rules or, if they make no such provision, one arbitrator shall be named by the board of directors and one by the member;

(c) an arbitrator shall not be beneficially interested, whether directly or indirectly, in the funds of the society; and

(d) the society shall maintain a panel of arbitrators and the names of the arbitrators appointed to the panel by the society shall be duly entered in a register kept by the society for this purpose at its chief office and a copy of the register shall be kept available for inspection by members and the Central Bank at reasonable times.

(4) Where the rules of a society provide that a dispute shall be determined by the Central Bank, the Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980, shall, subject to any necessary modifications, apply to that dispute, and—

(a) the rules shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be an arbitration agreement within the meaning of the Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980;

(b) the Central Bank shall be deemed to be a single arbitrator for the purposes of those Acts, and any provision contained therein relating to the appointment of additional arbitrators or umpires shall not apply.

(5) The Minister may by regulations, made after consultation with the Central Bank, provide that the functions of the Bank under subsection (4) shall devolve—

(a) on an adjudicator appointed under a scheme established pursuant to regulations under section 92 , or

(b) if there is no such scheme, on an adjudicator otherwise appointed under a non-statutory scheme for the adjudication of complaints against building societies or their subsidiaries or other associated bodies,

and, so long as such regulations are in force, references to the Central Bank in subsection (4), and in the relevant provisions of the rules of a society, shall be read as references to the said adjudicator.

(6) Nothing in this section shall prevent a society, any member of a society or any person claiming through or under a member, from obtaining in the ordinary course of law any remedy to which the society, member or person is entitled by law in respect of any mortgage or of any other contract other than the rules of a society.

(7) Any reference in the rules of a society to a dispute shall, except in so far as they otherwise expressly provide, be construed as referring only to a dispute to which this section applies.