Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961

Application of enactments relating to existing courts and judges and officers thereof, and rules of court.

48.—(1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, this section applies to the following enactments—

(i) any enactment contained in the Courts of Justice Acts, 1924 to 1961, the Court Officers Acts, 1926 to 1961, or the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 ,

(ii) any other enactment wherein there is a reference to a court established by the Act of 1924 or to a judge or officer thereof,

(iii) any instrument (other than rules of court) which is in force immediately before the operative date and was made under any enactment referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this paragraph.

(b) This section does not apply to—

(i) any enactment which has been repealed before the operative date or which is repealed by this Act, or

(ii) subsection (2) of section 19 and sections 77 and 78 of the Act of 1924.

(2) In the application of this section in relation to the existing District Court and the District Court a reference to a judge shall be construed as a reference to a justice thereof.

(3) Every enactment to which this section applies shall apply to the courts established by the Principal Act and to the judges and officers thereof as if it were enacted in this Act, with and subject to—

(a) the modifications specified in subsection (5) of this section,

(b) such adaptations and other modifications as may be made by the Minister under subsection (6) of this section.

(4) Rules of court made under the enactments to which this section applies and in force immediately before the operative date shall be deemed to have been made under those enactments, as applied by subsection (3) of this section, and shall have effect accordingly, but with and subject to the modifications specified in subsection (5) of this section, and any such rules of court may be altered or annulled as if they had been made under those enactments as so applied.

(5) The following are the modifications referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) and in subsection (4) of this section—

(a) a reference to the court mentioned in column (2) of Part I of the Seventh Schedule to this Act at a particular reference number shall be construed as a reference to the court mentioned in column (3) of the said Part I at that reference number,

(b) a reference to a judge of the court mentioned in column (2) of the said Part I at a particular reference number shall be construed as a reference to a judge of the court mentioned in column (3) of the said Part I at that reference number, and

(c) a reference to the judge mentioned in column (2) of Part II of the Seventh Schedule to this Act at a particular reference number shall be construed as a reference to the judge mentioned in column (3) of the said Part II at that reference number.

(6) (a) The Minister may from time to time by order make such adaptations or modifications (not inconsistent with the modifications effected by subsection (5) of this section) in or of any enactment to which this section applies as are, in his opinion, necessary and proper in order to give effect to the provisions of this Act.

(b) Every order made by the Minister under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall, where the order so provides, have and be deemed always to have had effect as on and from the operative date.

(7) “This Act” where it occurs in any enactment applied by this section shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as referring to the Act which includes that enactment.

(8) Subsection (1) of section 51 of the Act of 1936, as applied by this section, shall have effect as if “ten years' standing” were substituted for “six years' standing”.

(9) Subsection (1) of section 27 of the Act of 1953, as applied by this section, shall have effect as if for the reference therein to section 11 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1946 there were substituted a reference to section 40 of this Act.

(10) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1961 shall not be taken to refer to a person who, immediately before the passing of the Act of 1961, was a judge of the existing Supreme Court, High Court or Circuit Court or a justice of the existing District Court and is appointed a judge on the operative date.

(b) The reference in subsections (2), (4) and (5) of section 4 of the Act of 1961 to the Court Officers Acts, 1926 to 1951, shall be deemed to include a reference to this Act.

(c) Section 5 of the Act of 1961 shall have effect as if there were inserted at the end of subsection (2) “or under section 58 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961.”

(d) In this subsection “the Act of 1961” means the Courts of Justice and Court Officers (Superannuation) Act, 1961 .