Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961

Circuits and assignment of judges to circuits.

20.—(1) The circuits created under section 16 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1953 shall be the circuits for the purposes of the Circuit Court.

(2) (a) Where a person is appointed a judge of the Circuit Court, the Government shall permanently assign him to a particular circuit.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, if, on the operative date, there are nine ordinary judges of the Circuit Court so that, in the making of the first assignments under that paragraph, one of such judges cannot be permanently assigned to a particular circuit, such judge may be permanently assigned by the Government at any time to a circuit and, pending such assignment, may from time to time be temporarily assigned to any circuit by the President of the Circuit Court.

(c) Where a judge of the Circuit Court is temporarily assigned under paragraph (b) of this subsection to a circuit, then, such judge shall, while so temporarily assigned, have, in relation to such circuit and concurrently with any judge permanently assigned thereto and any judge who is temporarily assigned under section 10 of the Act of 1947 as applied by section 48 of this Act to such circuit, all the privileges, powers and duties for the time being conferred or imposed by law on a judge of the Circuit Court permanently assigned to such Circuit.

(3) Any judge of the Circuit Court who is for the time being permanently assigned to a particular circuit may at any time, if he so consents but not otherwise, be transferred by the Government to another circuit, and shall upon such transfer become and be permanently assigned to that other circuit in lieu of the first-mentioned circuit.