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Part V.
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Officers and Offices.
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Transfer of existing staff of officers to Supreme Court.
22 Vict. c. 26.
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72. The Receiver Master and the Accountant-General in Chancery, and the Masters in the Courts of Common Law, the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, the Clerk of the Crown of the Court of Queen's Bench, and the Taxing Masters, Secretaries, Registrars, Clerk of Records and Writs, Examiner in the Court of Chancery, Registrar of the consolidated Nisi Prius Court, Clerks of the Rules and Pleadings and Record Assistants, Chief and other Clerks, Commissioners to take oaths or affidavits, or the acknowledgment of deeds by married women, Stamp distributors, Messengers, Court and Office Keepers, Hall Porters, Tipstaves, Criers, and other officers and assistants at the time of the commencement of this Act attached to any Court or Judge whose jurisdiction is hereby transferred to the High Court, or to the Court of Appeal, and also all Registrars, clerks, officers, and other persons at the time of the commencement of this Act engaged in the preparation of commissions or writs, or in the registration of judgments or any other ministerial duties in aid of or connected with any Court the jurisdiction of which is hereby transferred to the said Courts respectively, also all persons who were officers of or connected with the late Masters of the Court of Chancery, or their offices, shall be attached to the Supreme Court of Judicature consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal.
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The officers so attached shall have the same rank and hold their offices by the same tenure and upon the same terms and conditions, and receive the same salaries, and, if entitled to pensions, be entitled to the same pensions, as if this Act had not passed; any such officer who is removable by the Court to which he is now attached shall be removable by the Court or Division to which he shall be attached under this Act, or by the majority of the Judges thereof, for the same causes as heretofore.
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The existing Registrars, Assistant Registrars, and Clerks to the Registrars in the Chancery Registrar's office, and also the existing officers of the three law courts, shall, so long as they continue officers of the Courts, retain any right of succession secured to them by Act of Parliament, so as to entitle those who are thus secured in their respective offices, or in any substituted offices, to the succession to appointments with similar or analogous duties and with equivalent salaries.
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All officers who at the time of the commencement of this Act shall be attached to the Court of Chancery, or any Judge or Master thereof, shall be attached to the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice; all officers who at the time of the commencement of this Act shall be attached to the Landed Estates Court, or the Judges thereof, shall be attached to the Land Judges of the Chancery Division; all officers who at the time of the commencement of this Act shall be attached to the Court of Queen's Bench shall he attached to the Queen's Bench Division of the said High Court; . . . and all officers who at the time of the commencement of this Act shall be attached to the Court of Exchequer shall be attached to the Exchequer Division of the said High Court; and all officers who at the time of the commencement of this Act shall be attached to The Court of Probate and the Court for Matrimonal Causes and Matters shall be attached to the Probate and Matrimonial Division of the said High Court.
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All clerks and other officers attached to any existing Judge who under the provisions of this Act shall become a Judge of the High Court of Justice or of the Court of Appeal shall continue attached to such Judge, and shall perform the same duties as those which they have hitherto performed, or duties analogous thereto, and shall have the same rank, and hold their offices by the same tenure and upon the same terms and conditions, and receive the same salaries, and, if entitled to pensions, be entitled to the same pensions, as if this Act had not passed.
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The distribution of business among the officers so attached to the said respective Divisions, the duties to be discharged by them, and any re-arrangement connected therewith, shall be regulated, controlled, and directed by rules of Court.
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If the services of any existing officer attached in manner aforesaid to a Division shall not be required in the Division to which he is attached, it shall be lawful for the Lord Chancellor, with the concurrence of the other Presidents of Divisions, or two of them, by order, to transfer such officer to some other office of the High Court of Justice, or some Division thereof, subject, however, to the conditions herein-after imposed as to the nature of the duties he is to perform.
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The following offices shall at dates to be fixed by the Lord Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Treasury, but within two years from the commencement of this Act, be consolidated in manner following: the Taxing Offices of the Common Law Courts and of the Landed Estates Court with the Taxing Office of the Court of Chancery, so as to have but one Taxing Office for the Supreme Court and the several Courts and Divisions thereof; the Office of Accountant in the Landed Estates Court with the Office of Accountant-General in the Court of Chancery, so as to have but one accounting department for the Supreme Court and all Courts and Divisions thereof; the Writ and Seal Office of the Law Courts with the Record and Writ Office in Chancery, so as to have but one office out of which all writs and summonses to commence proceedings in the High Court or any Division thereof may issue, and in which the records of all proceedings therein may be preserved; and the Notice Office of the Landed Estates Court with the Notice Office of the Court of Chancery.
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Subject to the provisions in this Act as to tenure and salary of existing officers, and as to the discharge by them of analogous duties only, the Lord Chancellor, the Chief Justice, . . . and the Chief Baron, or any two of them, of whom the Lord Chancellor shall be one, with, the concurrence of the Treasury, may, by order, consolidate any other offices of the Courts whose jurisdiction is hereby transferred to the Supreme Court in any cases where the union of the existing Courts into one Supreme Court shall render it no longer necessary or expedient to retain such offices separate.
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The distribution of business in the offices so united and consolidated, and the duties to be discharged by the officers thereof, shall be regulated and directed by rules of Court.
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All other officers and persons (if any) hereby attached to the Supreme Court, for the regulation of whose duties provision has not been herein-before made, shall have their duties defined by the Lord Chancellor.
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An existing officer hereby attached to the Supreme Court or any Court or Division thereof shall not be required to discharge any duties which are not either the same as or similar or analogous to those which he performed immediately before the commencement of this Act; and in case of question as to the duties proposed to be imposed upon an officer being similar or analogous, the Lord Chancellor shall decide, having regard to the rank and position previously held by such officer.
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The Lord Chancellor may, with the consent of the Treasury, increase the salary of any officer who is by this Act attached to the Supreme Court, or any Court, Division, or Judge thereof, and whose duties are increased by reason of the passing of this Act.
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In case it shall appear to the Lord Chancellor that, by reason of the consolidation or abolition of offices under the provisions of this Act, the continuance of the services of any officer holding during good behaviour, or during good behaviour subject to removal for cause by some Court or Judge, is unnecessary, the Lord Chancellor may, with the concurrence of the Treasury, make arrangements for the release of such officer from his duties, and thereupon it shall be in the power of the Treasury to award to such officer such compensation as, having regard to his period of service, to the tenure of office held by him, the Treasury shall consider just and reasonable: Provided always, where such officer shall have served for any period not exceeding fifteen years, the annual amount so to be awarded shall not be more than one half of the salary and emoluments of the office held by him, and for each year of completed service exceeding fifteen years there shall be awarded in addition one thirtieth part of the salary and emoluments of the office, but in no case shall the sum awarded exceed three fourth parts of the salary and emoluments of such office: Provided also, that in addition to any compensation to be awarded under the foregoing provisions the Lord Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Treasury, may award to any officer having by statute any right of succession to a position of higher rank and emolument such further compensation in respect of such right as, having regard to the circumstances of the case and to the amount awarded under the foregoing provisions, shall appear just and reasonable: Provided also, that no such officer appointed before the passing of this Act shall be so released without his consent.
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In every case in which the compensation awarded under such special circumstances affecting the tenure or position of an officer as are above referred to shall exceed the amount which might be awarded under the provisions of the seventh section of the Superannuation Act, 1859, without a special minute being laid before Parliament, the compensation shall be awarded by special minute of the Treasury, stating the reasons for it, and a copy of the minute shall be laid before Parliament within fourteen days of the date of the minute, if Parliament be then sitting, or if not, then within fourteen days of its next meeting.
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Any existing officer attached to any existing Court or Judge whose jurisdiction is abolished or transferred by this Act, and whose emoluments or statutory rights of promotion or succession are affected by the passing of this Act, shall be entitled to prefer a claim to the Treasury; and the Treasury, if it shall consider his claim to be established, shall have power to award to him such sum, either by way of compensation or as an addition to his salary, as it thinks just, having regard to the tenure of office by such officer and to the other circumstances of the case.
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