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32 1953

COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1953

PART V.

The District Court.

District court areas.

21. —(1) The Minister may, if and when he thinks fit, by order—

(a) divide the State (apart from the Dublin Metropolitan District) into such and so many convenient areas (which shall be known as district court areas) for the purposes of the District Court as he shall think proper, and may divide the State into different district court areas for the purposes of different classes of business transacted in the District Court, and

(b) appoint one or more convenient places in every district court area or within one mile of the boundary of such area in which, and such and so many convenient days and hours at which, the District Court shall be held for the purpose of transacting for such area the business for which the area was delimited.

(2) (a) The order may make provision for the continuation and completion of any business transacted in the District Court which is initiated before the commencement of the order and is not completed before such commencement.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, business transacted in the District Court shall be regarded as being initiated on the day on which the summons, warrant, process or other originating document relating to it is issued.

(3) The district court areas created under subsection (1) of this section shall for all purposes take the place of and be substituted for the district court areas created under section 47 of the Act of 1926, and references in any Act to district court areas in relation to the District Court shall be construed accordingly.

(4) The sittings of the District Court for the transaction for any district court area of the business for which such district court area is delimited shall be held in the places, on the days and at the hours for the time being appointed therefor under this Act.

District court districts.

22. —(1) On the making of the order under section 21 of this Act, the Minister shall by order declare that such and so many district court areas, as he shall think proper, shall form districts for the purposes of the District Court, but subject to the limitation that the number of such districts shall not exceed twenty-five.

(2) On the commencement of the order under subsection (1) of this section—

(a) the division of the State (apart from the Dublin Metropolitan District) into districts effected under subsection (3) of section 47 of the Act of 1926 shall cease to have effect;

(b) the existing assignments of justices to such districts shall cease;

(c) the Government shall permanently assign to each district created under subsection (1) of this section one of the justices then holding office, not being a justice permanently assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District;

(d) the districts created under subsection (1) of this section and the Dublin Metropolitan District shall, for the purposes of the Acts and this Act, be substituted for the districts created under the said section 47 and shall be known as district court districts;

(e) references in any Act to districts in relation to the District Court shall be construed accordingly.

(3) The order made under subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the commencement of the order made under section 21 of this Act.

Assignment of justices not assigned under section 22.

23. —Where, after the commencement of the order made under section 22 of this Act, there is a justice who is not permanently assigned to a district court district, he may be permanently assigned at any time to a district court district by the Government.

Qualification for appointment as justice.

24. —(1) Section 69 of the Act of 1924 (which provides for six years' standing as a barrister or solicitor as a qualification for appointment as justice) is hereby amended by the substitution of “ten years' standing” for “six years' standing”.

(2) Section 14 of the Act of 1946 is hereby amended by the substitution of “ten years” for “six years”.

Number of justices.

25. —On the occurrence after the commencement of the order made under section 22 of this Act of each vacancy in the office of district justice the maximum number of justices shall stand reduced by one until such time as it is reduced by the number by which the number of districts is reduced in consequence of the said order, and section 16 of the Act of 1946 (inserted therein by section 3 of the Courts of Justice (District Court) Act, 1949 (No. 8 of 1949)) shall stand modified accordingly.

Power to create, vary, abolish districts and areas.

26. —(1) It shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time, as he shall consider expedient, by order to do all or any of the following things:—

(a) vary or abolish any district court district,

(b) create any new district court district,

(c) vary or abolish any district court area,

(d) create any new district court area,

(e) vary the class or classes of business for which any district court area is delimited,

(f) alter the places or vary the days or hours for the time being appointed for holding the District Court in or for any district court area.

(2) (a) Whenever the Minister makes an order under subsection (1) of this section, he may make provision for securing the continuation and completion of any business transacted in the District Court which is initiated before the commencement of such order and is not completed before that date.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, business transacted in the District Court shall be regarded as being initiated on the day on which the summons, warrant, process or other originating document relating to it is issued.

(3) The abolition of a district court district under subsection (1) of this section shall operate to terminate any assignment then in force of a justice to that district and such justice may be permanently assigned at any time to another district court district by the Government.

(4) References in section 64 of the Act of 1936 to section 47 of the Act of 1926 shall be construed as including references to subsection (1) of this section and the District Court Districts (Dublin) Order, 1945 (S.R. & O., No. 279 of 1945), shall have effect accordingly.

Times and places at which business may be transacted.

27. —(1) In this section “appointed” means appointed under section 11 of the Act of 1946 or under section 21 or section 26 of this Act.

(2) It shall be lawful for a justice when sitting at a place, on a day, and at an hour appointed for the transaction of any particular class of business of the District Court, to transact at such sitting any other class of business of the District Court.

(3) It shall be lawful for a justice to transfer or adjourn the transaction of any business of the District Court in which he has jurisdiction to either—

(a) another occasion at the place in which he was transacting such business at the time of such transfer or adjournment, whether such occasion is or is not a day and hour appointed, or

(b) to another occasion (whether such occasion is or is not a day and hour appointed) at some other place in his district which is a place appointed for the transaction of business of the District Court, whether such business does or does not include the said business so transferred or adjourned.

Extension of jurisdiction in civil cases.

28. —(1) Paragraph A of section 77 of the Act of 1924 (which relates to the jurisdiction of the District Court in civil cases) is hereby amended as follows:—

(a) by the substitution in clause (i) (which relates to contract) of “£50” for “£25”,

(b) by the substitution in clause (ii) (which relates to certain actions in tort) of “£50” for “£10”,

(c) by the substitution in clause (iii), as amended by section 16 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1928 (No. 15 of 1928) (which relates to ejectment) of “£53” for “£27”,

(d) by the substitution in clause (iv) (which relates to proceedings on behalf of the State) of “£50” for “£25”, and

(e) by the substitution in clause (v) (inserted therein by section 52 of the Act of 1936) (which relates to proceedings on behalf of certain public bodies) of “£50” for “twenty-five pounds”.

(2) Subsection (1) of section 20 of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1946 (No. 16 of 1946) (which relates to the jurisdiction of the District Court in actions for the recovery of goods let under a hire-purchase agreement) is hereby amended by the substitution of “fifty pounds” for “twenty-five pounds”.

Jurisdiction under Rent Restrictions Acts in ejectment cases.

29. —In order to remove doubt, it is hereby enacted that the jurisdiction and powers conferred upon the Court by the Rent Restrictions Acts, 1946 to 1952, may be exercised by the District Court in all cases of ejectment in which that Court has jurisdiction by virtue of the Acts as amended by this Act.

Extension of jurisdiction in interpleader cases.

30. —Subsection (1) of section 22 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926 (No. 18 of 1926) (which relates to the bringing of interpleader proceedings by an undersheriff before the District Court) is hereby amended by the substitution of “fifty pounds” for “twenty-five pounds”.

Exercise of jurisdiction in desertion cases.

31. —Notwithstanding anything in section 79 of the Act of 1924, proceedings by a married woman under section 1 of the Married Women (Maintenance in Case of Desertion) Act, 1886, may be brought, heard and determined, and shall be deemed always to have been capable of being brought, heard and determined, either before and by a justice for the time being assigned to the district wherein her husband ordinarily resides or carries on business or before and by a justice for the time being assigned to the district wherein she ordinarily resides.

Amendment of section 68 of Dublin Police Act, 1842.

32. —Section 68 of the Dublin Police Act, 1842 (which provides for the delivery to the owner of goods unlawfully detained) is hereby amended by the substitution of “a justice of the District Court” for “any of the said divisional justices”, the deletion of “within the Limits of the Police District” and the substitution of “fifty pounds” for “Fifteen Pounds”, and the section as so amended shall have effect throughout the State.

Appeal from order under Probation of Offenders Act, 1907.

33. —An appeal shall lie to the Circuit Court from an order of the District Court under subsection (1) of section 1 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907.