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21 1946

COURTS OF JUSTICE (DISTRICT COURT) ACT, 1946

PART III.

Miscellaneous Provisions in Relation to the District Court.

Qualification for appointment as Justice.

14. —A barrister or solicitor, who actually practised his profession for not less than six years, shall not be ineligible for appointment as a Justice by reason only of the fact that he is for the time being not practising his profession, if he holds for the time being an office in respect of which it was (at the time of his appointment thereto) required by statute that every person appointed thereto should be or should have been—

(a) a practising solicitor, or

(b) a practising barrister or a practising solicitor.

Age of retirement of Justices.

15. —(1) The age of retirement of a Justice shall be sixty-five years.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of this section, the age of retirement of a person, who is, immediately before the operative date, a Dublin Metropolitan Justice or a Justice permanently assigned to the district comprising or including the county borough of Cork, shall be seventy years.

Maximum number of Justices.

16. —The number of Justices at any time shall not exceed forty.

Assignment of Justices to districts.

17. —(1) (a) Where a person is appointed a Justice, then, subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the Government, if they think fit, may, upon such appointment, assign him permanently to a particular district.

(b) Where, at the time of the appointment of a person to be a Justice, there are four Justices not permanently assigned to particular districts, the Government shall assign such person permanently to a particular district.

(c) Where a Justice is immediately before the operative date permanently assigned to a particular district he shall for the purposes of this section continue, subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, to be permanently assigned to that district.

(2) Where a Justice is not upon appointment permanently assigned to a particular district, the Government may at any time assign him permanently to a particular district.

(3) A Justice who is permanently assigned to a particular district may, but only if he so consents, be transferred by the Minister to another district and shall upon such transfer become and be permanently assigned to such other district in lieu of being permanently assigned to such first-mentioned district.

(4) (a) Where a Justice is permanently assigned to a particular district, the Government, upon his request, may, if they think fit, terminate such permanent assignment.

(b) Where the permanent appointment of a Justice to a particular district is terminated under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Government may at any time thereafter assign him permanently to a particular district.

(5) A Justice who is not for the time being permanently assigned to a particular district may be assigned by the Minister from time to time to any district, and every such Justice shall, while so assigned to a district, have in relation to such district and concurrently with the Justice permanently assigned to such district all the privileges, powers and duties for the time being conferred or imposed by law on the Justice permanently assigned to such district.

(6) Nothing in this section shall apply to temporary Justices.

No further appointments of assistant Justices.

18. —No person shall, on or after the operative date, be appointed under section 13 of the Act of 1928, as an assistant Justice.

Pension rights of Justices.

19. —(1) Where—

(a) a Justice, after having completed ten years' service or more, vacates his office with the consent of the Government, and

(b) such Justice is not entitled, under or by virtue of the Courts of Justice Acts, 1924 to 1936, to a pension in respect of his service as a Justice,

he shall be entitled for his life to a pension calculated at the rate of one-sixth of his salary at the time he so vacates his office with the addition of one-fortieth of his said salary for every completed year of service in excess of ten such years.

(2) Any pension payable under subsection (1) of this section or any award under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1942, granted by virtue of section 75 of the Principal Act, as continued by subsection (3) of section 48 of the Act of 1936, shall be charged on and payable out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(3) Whenever a Justice is removed from office on account of incapacity, he shall be deemed for the purposes of pension to have vacated his office owing to permanent infirmity.

Tenure of office of Justices.

20. —Justices shall hold office by the same tenure as the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

Judicial inquiry into health or conduct of Justices.

21. —Whenever the Minister requests the Chief Justice to appoint a Judge to—

(a) investigate the condition of health, either physical or mental, of a Justice, or

(b) to inquire into the conduct (whether in the execution of his office or otherwise) of a Justice, either generally or on a particular occasion,

and, in either case, with particular reference to such matters as may be mentioned in the request, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say—

(i) the Chief Justice shall appoint either a Judge of the Supreme Court or, with the consent of the President of the High Court, a Judge of the High Court to conduct the investigation or inquiry;

(ii) the Judge so appointed may conduct the investigation or inquiry in such manner as he thinks proper, whether by examination of witnesses or otherwise, and in particular may conduct any proceedings in camera, and for this purpose shall have all such powers, rights and privileges as are vested in a Judge of the High Court on the occasion of an action;

(iii) upon conclusion of the investigation or inquiry, the said Judge shall report the result thereof to the Minister.

Temporary arrangements for dispatch of business owing to death, etc., of Justice permanently assigned to a district.

22. —Whenever a Justice (other than the Principal Justice of a Division), who is permanently assigned to a particular district, dies, vacates his office or is absent from such district, the Minister may temporarily assign to such district any other Justice (subject, in the case of a Justice permanently assigned to a district, to his consent) or any temporary Justice, and any Justice or temporary Justice so temporarily assigned shall be competent to exercise jurisdiction in such first-named district until his temporary assignment is terminated by the Minister, and notwithstanding, in case he is a Justice permanently assigned to another district, such permanent assignment.

Enforcement of decision on appeal from District Court.

23. —Where an appeal from the District Court in any matter is determined (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the Circuit Court, then, unless the Circuit Court has issued the instrument necessary to enforce its decision, the District Court shall issue the said instrument.