Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914

Manner of enforcing payment of sums adjudged to be paid.

25.(1) The following provision shall be substituted for subsection (3) of section twenty-one of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879:—

“Where a sum is adjudged to be paid by a conviction of a court of summary jurisdiction, or in the case of a sum not a civil debt by an order of such court, and on default of payment of such sum a warrant of distress is authorised to be issued, the court may, in any case in which it appears expedient to do so, instead of issuing a warrant of distress, issue a warrant of commitment:

Provided that where time is not allowed for the payment of such sum, a warrant of commitment shall not be issued in the first instance unless it appears to the court that the offender has no goods or insufficient goods to satisfy the money payable or that the levy of distress will be more injurious to him or his family than imprisonment.”

(2) Where a sum is adjudged to be paid by a conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction, and, by the statute authorising such conviction or order, a mode of enforcing the payment thereof is provided which does not authorise the issue of a warrant of distress for the purpose, a warrant of distress may nevertheless be issued in like manner in all respects and with the like consequences as if no mode of enforcing the payment were provided in such statute.