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8 1959

ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT, 1959

PART IV

Miscellaneous Provisions

District probate registries.

24. —(1) (a) In this subsection, “the Act of 1936” means the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 (No. 48 of 1936).

(b) For the purposes of section 65 (which empowers the Minister for Justice to prescribe court fees) of the Act of 1936, every district probate registry shall be deemed to be an office established by the Court Officers Act, 1926 (No. 27 of 1926).

(c) The Supreme Court and High Court (Fees) Order, 1956 (S.I. No. 251 of 1956), which said Order was made under section 65 of the Act of 1936, shall apply in respect of each district probate registry and each district probate registrar as it applies to the Probate Office and the Probate Officer respectively subject to the following modifications:—

(i) the references to offices of the Supreme Court and High Court shall include references to a district probate registry,

(ii) the reference to an officer of the Supreme Court or the High Court shall include a reference to a district probate registrar,

(iii) the references to the Probate Office and the Probate Officer shall include references to a district probate registry and a district probate registrar respectively.

(2) (a) Where a person (in this subsection referred to as the acting district probate registrar) is for the time being required and authorised, by the Minister for Justice under section 9 of the Court Officers Act, 1945 (No. 25 of 1945), as amended by section 5 of the Court Officers Act, 1951 (No. 8 of 1951), to perform the duties of district probate registrar for the district served by a particular district probate registry, the said Minister may authorise a specified officer serving in that district probate registry or in the circuit court office which serves the area within which such district probate registry is located to execute, during the temporary absence or temporary incapacity through illness of the acting district probate registrar, the office of district probate registrar for that district and, if the said Minister does so, then such officer shall, during any such temporary absence or temporary incapacity, have and exercise all the powers and fulfil all the duties of the district probate registrar for that district unless and until the said Minister otherwise directs.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be deemed to have come into operation on the commencement of section 9 of the Court Officers Act, 1945 .

Exercise, etc., of functions of the Probate Officer.

25. —(1) (a) In this subsection—

the Act of 1926” means the Court Officers Act, 1926 (No. 27 of 1926);

the functions of the Probate Officer under the Act of 1926” means the powers, authorities, duties and functions exercisable or performable by the Probate Officer by virtue of section 9 of the Act of 1926;

the Assistant Probate Officer” means—

(i) as respects the exercise or performance before the date of the passing of this Act of the functions of the Probate Officer under the Act of 1926—the officer employed in the Probate Office who was known as or designated the Assistant Probate Officer or the Deputy Probate Officer,

(ii) as respects the exercise or performance on or after that date of the functions of the Probate Officer under the Act of 1926—the officer employed in the Probate Office who is next in rank to the Probate Officer and is qualified to be appointed to be Probate Officer.

(b) The functions of the Probate Officer under the Act of 1926 may also, but subject, as respects the exercise or performance of those functions on or after the date of the passing of this Act, to any restrictions which the President of the High Court may think fit to impose, be exercised or performed by the Assistant Probate Officer.

(c) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection shall be deemed to have come into operation on the commencement of section 9 of the Act of 1926.

(2) (a) In this subsection “the Assistant Probate Officer” means the officer employed in the Probate Office who is next in rank to the Probate Officer and is qualified to be appointed to be Probate Officer.

(b) The powers conferred on the Probate Officer by section 14 of this Act may, as respects the estates of persons dying on or after the 1st day of June, 1959, also, but subject to any restrictions which the President of the High Court may think fit to impose, be exercised by the Assistant Probate Officer.

Amendment of section 2 (2) (d) of the Statute of Limitations, 1957.

26. —In subsection (2) of section 2 of the Statute of Limitations, 1957 (No. 6 of 1957), there shall be substituted for paragraph (d) the following paragraph—

“(d) A personal representative in the capacity of personal representative shall not, by reason only of section 1 of the Executors Act, 1830, or subsection (1) of section 86 of the Act of 1891, or subsection (1) of section 7 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1959, be a trustee for the purposes of this Act.”.