Judicial Council Act 2019

Judicial Support Committees

30. (1) The Council shall establish the following committees (referred to in this Act as the “Judicial Support Committees”):

(a) a committee to be known as the Supreme Court Judicial Support Committee comprised of the following members:

(i) the Chief Justice who shall, ex officio, be a member of the Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4);

(ii) an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court elected by the ordinary judges of that Court;

(b) a committee to be known as the Court of Appeal Judicial Support Committee comprised of the following members:

(i) the President of the Court of Appeal who shall, ex officio, be a member of the Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4);

(ii) an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal elected by the ordinary judges of that Court;

(c) a committee to be known as the High Court Judicial Support Committee comprised of the following members:

(i) the President of the High Court who shall, ex officio, be a member of the Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4);

(ii) two ordinary judges of the High Court elected by the ordinary judges of that Court;

(d) a committee to be known as the Circuit Court Judicial Support Committee comprised of the following members:

(i) the President of the Circuit Court who shall, ex officio, be a member of the Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4);

(ii) two other judges of the Circuit Court elected by the ordinary judges and the specialist judges of that Court;

(e) a committee to be known as the District Court Judicial Support Committee comprised of the following members:

(i) the President of the District Court who shall, ex officio, be a member of the Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4);

(ii) two other judges of the District Court elected by the judges, other than the President, of that Court.

(2) The Council shall, at the first meeting of the Council, specify the date upon which the Judicial Support Committees shall stand established which shall be a date not later than 6 months following that first meeting.

(3) The function of a Judicial Support Committee shall be to advise and assist the Council in the performance of its functions under this Act insofar as matters relevant to the Court to which the Committee relates are concerned.

(4) The ex officio member of a Judicial Support Committee may from time to time nominate in writing another judge of the court of which he or she is Chief Justice or President, as the case may be, to perform the functions of that ex officio member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned during such period or on such occasion or occasions as are specified in the nomination.

(5) A nomination under subsection (4) shall—

(a) cease to have effect upon—

(i) the expiration of the period or the passing of the occasion or occasions, as the case may be, specified in the nomination, or

(ii) the rescinding of the nomination by the ex officio member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned who made the nomination,

(b) where the ex officio member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned who made the nomination ceases to hold the judicial office by virtue of which he or she became such ex officio member, cease to have effect upon that ex officio member ceasing to hold that office,

(c) where the judge in respect of whom the nomination was made ceases to hold the judicial office by virtue of which he or she was so nominated, cease to have effect upon his or her ceasing to hold that office, or

(d) where the judge in respect of whom the nomination was made by notice in writing given or sent to the ex officio member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned indicates that he or she does not wish to continue to perform the functions concerned, cease to have effect upon the receipt of that notice by that ex officio member.

(6) A member of a Judicial Support Committee, who is elected as such a member under paragraph (a)(ii), (b)(ii), (c)(ii), (d)(ii) or (e)(ii), as may be appropriate, of subsection (1) (in this section referred to as an “elected member of a Judicial Support Committee”), shall serve as a member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned for a term of 4 years from the date of his or her election.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), an elected member of a Judicial Support Committee whose term of membership expires with the passage of time shall be eligible for membership of the Judicial Support Committee concerned for a further term of 4 years.

(8) An elected member of a Judicial Support Committee who has served 2 terms as a member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned shall not be eligible for membership of that Committee other than in accordance with subsection (9).

(9) An elected member of a Judicial Support Committee who has served 2 terms as a member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned shall be eligible for membership of that Committee after a period of 4 years has elapsed immediately following the expiration of his or her most recent term of membership of that Committee.

(10) An elected member of a Judicial Support Committee may resign from membership of the Judicial Support Committee concerned by notice in writing given or sent to the ex officio member of that Judicial Support Committee or his or her replacement nominated under subsection (4), as the case may be, and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the ex officio member or his or her nominated replacement, as may be appropriate, receives the notice.

(11) Where an elected member of a Judicial Support Committee ceases to hold the judicial office that he or she held when he or she became a member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned, he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of that Committee.

(12) Where an elected member of a Judicial Support Committee dies, retires or resigns from judicial office, resigns from membership in accordance with subsection (10) or ceases to be a member under subsection (11), the vacancy in the Judicial Support Committee concerned so occasioned shall be filled by a judge elected to be a member of that Judicial Support Committee in the same manner as the member of that Committee who occasioned the vacancy was elected.

(13) A member of a Judicial Support Committee elected in accordance with subsection (12) shall serve as a member of the Judicial Support Committee concerned for the unexpired portion of the term of membership of the member whom he or she has replaced.

(14) A term of membership of any duration of a Judicial Support Committee resulting from an election in accordance with subsection (12) shall be reckoned as a term of membership for the purposes of subsections (8) and (9).