(1)A claim for compensation under this Act shall be made by serving upon the undertakers a notice in writing stating the grounds of the claim and the amount claimed.
(2)A claim for compensation under this Act may be made at any time during the continuance of the order to which it relates, or within three months from the date on which the order ceases to have effect.
(3)Any question as to the right of a claimant to recover compensation, or as to the amount of compensation recoverable, shall in default of agreement be referred to, and determined by, an arbitrator agreed between the parties or, in default of agreement, to be appointed by the Minister.
(4)Where a claim is made during the continuance of an order, the arbitrator may, if he thinks fit, award a sum representing the damage which is likely to be sustained by the claimant in respect of each day on which water is taken, or is taken otherwise than in accordance with a restriction or obligation, or on which compensation water is not discharged or is discharged otherwise than in accordance with an obligation, or on which a prohibition or limitation on the taking of water is in effect, as the case may be.
(5)The decision of an arbitrator upon a question of fact shall be final and binding on the parties and the persons claiming under them respectively, but an arbitrator may, and shall if the High Court so directs, state at any stage of the proceedings, in the form of a special case for the opinion of the High Court, any question of law arising in the course of the proceedings, and may state his award as to the whole or part thereof in the form of a special case for the opinion of the High Court.
(6)The decision of the High Court upon any case so stated shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be subject to appeal to any other court.
(7)An arbitrator appointed for the purposes of this section may, in any case in which he thinks it expedient to do so, call in the aid as assessor of a person to be selected by the arbitrator from a panel of persons to be nominated by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and he may hear the case wholly or partially with the assistance of the assessor.
Where the arbitrator calls in the aid of a person as assessor, there shall be payable by such of the parties and in such proportions as may be determined by the arbitrator such sum in respect of the remuneration and expenses of the assessor as may be so determined.