Juries Act, 1927

Service of jurors summonses by post.

44.—(1) The Minister may at any time by writing under his hand addressed to the summoning officer or the several summoning officers concerned direct that summonses for the attendance of jurors—

(a) in the High Court sitting in the county borough of Dublin or the county of Dublin, or

(b) in the High Court sitting in any particular county borough or county other than the county borough of Dublin and the county of Dublin, or

(c) in the Central Criminal Court sitting in the county borough of Dublin or the county of Dublin, or

(d) in the Central Criminal Court sitting in any particular county borough or county other than the county borough of Dublin and the county of Dublin,

shall be served by sending the same by registered post to the persons to whom they are respectively addressed at the addresses specified in such summonses.

(2) The Minister may at any time by writing under his hand addressed to the summoning officer or the several summoning officers concerned direct that summonses for the attendance of jurors in the Circuit Court sitting at any place or at any particular place or places in a particular Circuit shall be served by sending the same by registered post to the persons to whom they are respectively addressed at the addresses specified in such summonses.

(3) Whenever any such direction is given by the Minister then, unless and until such direction is revoked by the Minister, every jurors summons to which the direction applies shall be served by sending the same by prepaid registered post in a closed envelope addressed to the person at the address named in the summons, and, unless the same is returned by the Post Office to the summoning officer as undelivered, every jurors summons so posted shall be deemed to have been served on the person to whom the envelope containing it was addressed at the time at which such envelope would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.

(4) Whenever any jurors summonses are served by post under this section it shall be the duty of the summoning officer to keep a record in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars of the posting of every such summons and of the receipt of every such summons which is returned to him without having been delivered, and, in the Court and at the time and place in and at which such summonses required the persons to whom they were addressed to attend, to produce such record together with the prescribed evidence of the due posting of every such summons and of the return undelivered of any of such summonses as are so returned.

(5) No direction shall be given or revoked nor shall any matter or thing be prescribed by the Minister under this section in relation to the High Court or the Central Criminal Court without previous consultation with the President of the High Court nor in relation to the Circuit Court without previous consultation with the Judge of that Court then assigned to the circuit to which or containing the place or places to which the direction or prescription applies.

(6) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, give direction to any summoning officer in respect of the procedure to be adopted in regard to the actual posting of summonses under this section.