Courts of Justice Act, 1936
|
Removal, etc., of justices of the District Court. |
49.—(1) The Chief Justice, the President of the High Court, and the Attorney-General shall constitute an advisory committee for the purposes of this section, and when acting as such committee shall have full power to inquire into and investigate in such manner as they think proper, whether by examination of witnesses or otherwise, any matters referred to them under this section or in regard to which they are authorised by this section to take action. | |
(2) The Registrar of the Supreme Court shall act as secretary to the said advisory committee. | ||
(3) The Minister for Justice or any member of the said advisory committee may at any time bring to the notice of the said advisory committee either of the following matters in relation to any particular justice of the District Court, that is to say:— | ||
(a) the fitness of such justice to continue to hold his office having regard to his mental or physical health, or | ||
(b) the conduct of such justice (whether in the execution of his office or otherwise) either generally or upon a particular occasion. | ||
(4) The said advisory committee shall investigate every matter brought to their notice under the next preceding sub-section of this section and— | ||
(a) if such matter is the fitness of a justice of the District court to continue to hold his office having regard to his physical or mental health, the said advisory committee shall either (as they or a majority of them shall think proper) decide that no action should be taken in the matter or decide that such justice is unfit as aforesaid to continue to hold his office, or | ||
(b) if such matter is the conduct of a justice of the District Court, the said advisory committee shall either (as they or a majority of them shall think proper) decide that no action should be taken in the matter, or decide that such conduct amounts to misbehaviour in office or that it amounts to misconduct and (in either case) that such justice is, on account of such conduct, unfit to continue to hold his office. | ||
(5) Whenever the said advisory committee decides under this section that a justice of the District Court is unfit to continue to hold his office, the said advisory committee shall make and send to the Executive Council a report of their said decision (including a statement of the nature of such unfitness), and upon receipt of such report— | ||
(a) if the nature of the unfitness stated in such report is mental or physical infirmity, the Executive Council may, if they so think proper, give such justice an opportunity of vacating his office on account of such infirmity and, if he does not or cannot avail himself of such opportunity, remove such justice from office on account of such infirmity, or | ||
(b) if the nature of the unfitness stated in such report is either misbehaviour in office or misconduct, the Executive Council may, if they so think proper, give such justice an opportunity of vacating his office and, if he does not avail himself of such opportunity, remove him from office on account of such misbehaviour in office or misconduct, as the case may be. | ||
(6) Whenever a justice of the District Court is removed from office by the Executive Council under this section on account of mental or physical infirmity, he shall be deemed, for the purposes of pension, to have vacated his office owing to permanent infirmity. | ||
(7) No decision of or report by the said advisory committee under this section shall be questioned or made the subject of proceedings in any Court. | ||
(8) In this section the expression “justice of the District Court” includes an assistant justice appointed under section 13 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1928 (No. 15 of 1928), but does not include a person appointed under section 76 of the Principal Act to be a temporary assistant justice of the District Court or a person appointed under this Part of this Act to act temporarily as a justice of the District Court. |