County Courts (Amendment) Act, 1923

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Number 45.

COUNTY COURTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1923.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 45.

COUNTY COURTS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1923.

AN ACT TO REMOVE CERTAIN DIFFICULTIES IN RELATION TO THE HOLDING OF QUARTER SESSIONS AND CIVIL BILL COURTS AND THE RETURN OF JURORS AND THE SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS IN RELATION TO SUCH COURTS. [31st October, 1923]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

Places in which Quarter Sessions and Civil Bill Courts may bo held.

1.—(1) Wherever the sessions of a Court of Quarter Sessions or of a Civil Bill Court for any division were, pursuant to an order or purported order of the County Court Judge at any time after the 6th day of December 1922, and before the passing of this Act, held at any place other than the place at which, or outside the county, division or other area in which, such court was by any enactment, rule, or order required to be held, the place in which such sessions were actually held shall be deemed to have been at the time of the holding of such sessions the place and within the county, division, or area, at or in which such court was by such enactment, rule, or order required to be held.

(2) From and after the passing of this Act the sessions of the Court of Quarter Sessions and of the Civil Bill Court for any division of any county may, in lieu of being held in a town in such division, be held in the courthouse in such other town in any other division of the same county as the County Court Judge shall with the approval of the Minister, from time to time appoint.

(3) For the purpose of any enactment requiring the Courts of Quarter Sessions or the Civil Bill Courts to be held in any particular courthouse or building, or within any particular county, division, or other area, the courthouse appointed under this section for the holding of any sessions of a Court of Quarter Sessions or of a Civil Bill Court shall be deemed to be the court-house or building and to be within the county, division or other area in or within which such Court or Sessions is or are by such enactment required to be held.

(4) Primâ facie evidence of any order made by a County Court Judge under this section may be given in all Courts of Justice and all legal proceedings by the production of a copy thereof purporting to be certified to be true by the Registrar of the County Court Judge by whom the order was made, which copy the Registrar aforesaid shall be bound to furnish to any person on payment of the fee prescribed by the Minister, and it shall not be necessary to prove the signature of such Registrar or that he is in fact the Registrar of such County Court Judge.

Service of civil bills and jurors summonses may be deemed good.

2.—(1) Any County Court Judge may deem any document to which this section applies to have been validly served notwithstanding that the same was not served in the manner required by the law in force at the passing of this Act if the County Court. Judge is satisfied—

(a) that it was not reasonably possible to effect service of such document in the manner required by the law aforesaid; and

(b) that such document or a copy thereof or reasonable notice of such document and of the contents thereof did in fact reach the person required to be served therewith.

(2) This section applies—

(a) to all civil bills, whether ordinary, title, equity or otherwise;

(b) to all documents summoning or requiring the attendance of grand jurors, special jurors or common jurors, whether for criminal or civil business at any Court of Quarter Sessions or Civil Bill Court.

Return of jurors when no jurors book in existence.

3.—(1) If and whenever there shall not be in existence for either the current year or the next preceding year, such general jurors book or special jurors book respectively, as is mentioned in Section 17 of the Juries (Ireland) Act, 1871, it shall be lawful to return jurors from the general jurors book or the special jurors book (as the case may be) for the latest year for which such book is in existence, and also, if it shall appear to the Under Sheriff or other officer liable to make the return of jurors that owing to deaths, removals or otherwise, it is not possible to form a sufficient panel from such book, it shall be lawful to return as jurors the names of such, and so many other persons who appear to the Under Sheriff or other officer aforesaid to be liable to serve as jurors as shall be necessary to form a sufficient panel.

(2) Every person who shall be returned as a juror under the foregoing sub-section shall be under the same liability to serve as a juror as if a general jurors book or a special jurors book (as the case may be) for the current year had been in existence, and the name of such person had appeared therein, unless such person shall satisfy the Judge of the Court to which he is summoned as a juror that, if such book had been in existence, his name could not lawfully have been inserted therein.

(3) If any person whose name is not contained in such general jurors book or special jurors book (as the case may be) for the latest year for which such book is in existence, and whose name could not be lawfully inserted in the general jurors book or, special jurors book (as the case may be) for the current year, shall be returned and sworn as a juror upon any trial without objection, such trial shall not be interrupted or deemed a mistrial, nor shall the verdict thereon be impeached or questioned on account of the return of such person as a juror.

Interpretation.

4.—In this Act the expression “County Court Judge” includes a Recorder and a Judge of a Borough, and the word “Minister” means the Minister for Home Affairs.

Short title, commencement and duration.

5.—(1) This Act may be cited as the County Courts (Amendment) Act, 1923

(2) This Act shall be deemed to come into force on and shall have effect as on and from the 1st day of September, 1923.

(3) This Act shall continue in force until the 31st day of August, 1924, and shall then expire.