Land Act, 1936

Levying of fees and expenses under warrants of the Land Commission.

17.—(1) A county registrar executing a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be entitled—

(a) if the money certified in such warrant to be due exceeds three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such warrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the scales appointed by the Minister for Justice under paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926), and for the time being in force, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning of the said Act) of the High Court, and

(b) if the money certified in such warrant to be due exceeds twenty-five pounds but does not exceed three hundred pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under suchwarrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning aforesaid) of the Circuit Court, and

(c) if the money certified in such warrant to be due does not exceed twenty-five pounds, to charge and (where appropriate) to add to such money and (in any case) to levy under such warrant such fees and expenses, calculated according to the said scales, as such county registrar would be entitled so to charge or add and to levy if such warrant were an execution order (within the meaning aforesaid) of the District Court.

(2) The foregoing sub-section of this section shall have and be deemed always to have had effect as on and from the passing of the Land Act, 1933 , and accordingly no warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of that Act before the passing of this Act shall be or ever have been made void or in any way prejudiced by the addition to the money thereby certified to be due of any fees or expenses which might lawfully have been so added if the said foregoing sub-section had then been in force, and no levy by a county registrar before the passing of this Act of the amount of any such fees or expenses so added which would have been a lawful levy if the said foregoing sub-section had then been in force shall be or ever have been unlawful.

(3) A county registrar executing before the passing of this Act a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be deemed always to have been entitled to charge and (where appropriate) to add to the money certified in such warrant to be due and (in any case) to levy under such warrant (in lieu of such fees and expenses as are mentioned in the first sub-section of this section) such fees and expenses as were specified or authorised or purported to be authorised in that behalf in or by any direction issued to such county registrar by the Minister for Justice.

(4) No action or other proceeding instituted in any court before and pending at the passing of this Act against a county registrar in respect of anything done by him under a warrant issued by the Land Commission under section 28 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall (subject to the next following sub-section of this section) be further prosecuted or proceeded with if or in so far as such proceeding is grounded on all or any of the following allegations, that is to say, the allegation that the charge by such county registrar in relation to such warrant of any fees or any expenses which might lawfully have been so charged if the foregoing sub-sections of this section had then been in force was unlawful, or the allegation that such warrant was invalidated or prejudiced by the addition to the moneys thereby certified of any fees or any expenses which might lawfully have been so added if the said foregoing sub-sections had then been in force, or the allegation that the levy under such warrant of any such fees or any such expenses was unlawful.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the next preceding sub-section of this section, it shall be lawful for the Court in which any such action or other proceeding as is mentioned in that sub-section is pending at the passing of this Act to make on the application of the plaintiff in such proceeding after such passing such order as to the costs of such proceeding as such Court shall think proper.

(6) In the application of this section in relation to a county for which there is for the time being an under-sheriff, this section shall have and, in the case of the first sub-section thereof, be deemed always to have had effect as if the word “under-sheriff” were substituted for the expression “county registrar” throughout this section.