Indemnity Act, 1923
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Restrictions on taking proceedings against certain persons. |
1.—(1) No action or other legal proceeding whatsoever, whether civil or criminal, shall be instituted in any court of law or equity in Saorstát Eireann for or on account of or in respect of any act, matter, or thing done, whether within or outside the area of jurisdiction of the Provisional Government or the Government of Saorstát Eireann, since the 27th day of June, 1922, and before the passing of this Act, provided such act, matter, or thing | |
(a) was done or purported to be done for the purpose or in the course of the suppression of the state of rebellion created by the attempt to overthrow by force the lawfully established Government of Saorstát Eireann (including the Provisional Government), and | ||
(b) was done in good faith, and | ||
(c) was done or purported to be done in the execution of the duty of the person doing the same, or for the public safety, or for the enforcement of discipline or otherwise in the public interest, and | ||
(d) was done by a person holding office under or employed in the service of the Provisional Government or the Government of Saorstát Eireann in any capacity whether military or civil, or by any other person acting under the authority of a person so holding office or so employed. | ||
(2) If any such action or proceeding as is mentioned in the preceding sub-section has been instituted, whether before or after the passing of this Act, it shall be discharged and made void, subject in the case of an action or proceeding instituted before the passing of this Act to such order as to costs as the Court or Judge may think fit to make. | ||
(3) This section shall not prevent the institution or prosecution of | ||
(a) any proceedings by or on behalf of the Government of Saorstát Eireann or any Minister or Department of that Government, or | ||
(b) any proceedings in respect of any alleged rights under, or breaches of, any contract, or | ||
(c) any civil proceedings founded on negligence in respect of damage to person or property, or | ||
(d) any proceedings respecting the validity or infringement of a patent, or | ||
(e) any proceedings under the Damage to Property (Compensation) Act, 1923 (No. 15 of 1923), or | ||
(f) any proceedings for enforcing or otherwise giving effect to any final judgment given by any Court in Saorstát Eireann before the passing of this Act and from which no appeal lies by law or is pending at the passing of this Act. |