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39 1961

COURTS (SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS) ACT, 1961

PART IV

District Court

General Provisions

Number of justices of District Court.

28. —The number of justices of the District Court, in addition to the President of the District Court, shall not be more than thirty-four.

Qualifications of justices of District Court and interpretation of section 2 of the Act of 1949, as applied by section 48 of this Act.

29. —(1) (a) Each of the persons who are justices of the existing District Court immediately before the operative date shall be qualified for appointment as a justice of the District Court and, if and so long as there is one or more than one of those persons who is willing to accept office and has not been appointed, no other person shall be qualified for appointment as a justice of the District Court.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection applies only in relation to the qualification for appointment of the first justices of the District Court.

(c) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall have effect subject to the preceding paragraphs of this subsection.

(2) A person who is for the time being a practising barrister or solicitor of not less than ten years' standing shall be qualified for appointment as a justice of the District Court.

(3) A barrister or solicitor who actually practised his profession for not less than ten years shall be qualified for appointment as a justice of the District Court if for the time being he holds 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 solicitor.

(4) Where a person (being, immediately before the operative date, a justice of the existing District Court by virtue of a warrant made under section 2 of the Act of 1949) is appointed a justice of the District Court, he shall, for the purposes of the Act of 1949, as applied by section 48 of this Act, be deemed to have been continued in office under the Act of 1949, as so applied, for a year commencing on the date on which he attained—

(a) if the warrant is the first in respect of him, sixty-five years or

(b) if the warrant is the second in respect of him, sixty-six years, or

(c) if the warrant is the third in respect of him, sixty-seven years, or

(d) if the warrant is the fourth in respect of him, sixty-eight years, or

(e) if the warrant is the fifth in respect of him, sixty-nine years.

Age of retirement of justice of District Court.

30. —(1) The age of retirement of a justice of the District Court shall be sixty-five years.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the age of retirement of a justice of the District Court who, immediately before the 29th day of July, 1946, was a justice of the existing District Court and as such justice was permanently assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District shall be seventy years.

(3) The references in section 2 of the Act of 1949, as applied by section 48 of this Act, to section 15 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1946 shall be construed as references to subsection (1) of this section.

Pensions of justices of District Court.

31. —(1) The provisions set out in Part III of the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to the pensions of justices of the District Court.

(2) Where a justice of the District Court is removed from office on account of incapacity, he shall be deemed for the purpose of pension to have vacated his office owing to permanent infirmity.

District court areas and districts and assignment of justices to districts.

32. —(1) The areas created under section 21 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1953 shall be the district court areas for the purposes of the District Court.

(2) The districts created under section 22 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1953 and the Dublin Metropolitan District shall be the district court districts for the purposes of the District Court.

(3) The provisions (which relate to the assignment of justices of the District Court to districts) set out in the Sixth Schedule to this Act shall have effect.

Jurisdiction of District Court.

33. —(1) There shall be vested in and transferred to the District Court—

(a) all jurisdiction which, by virtue of sections 77 and 78 of the Act of 1924, was, immediately before the operative date, vested in or capable of being exercised by the existing District Court,

(b) all jurisdiction which, by virtue of any enactment which is applied by section 48 of this Act, was, immediately before the operative date, vested in or capable of being exercised by the existing District Court.

(2) (a) In this subsection—

the Act of 1890” means the Public Health Acts Amendment Act, 1890, as applied to Ireland by subsection (9) of section 12 of that Act and as amended by section 14 of the Act of 1935;

the Act of 1935” means the Public Dance Halls Act, 1935 .

(b) Section 51 (which relates to music and dancing licences) of the Act of 1890 shall have effect as if for the references therein to licensing justices there were substituted references to the District Court.

(c) The jurisdiction vested in the District Court by this subsection shall be exercised by the justice of the District Court for the time being assigned to the district where there is situate the house, room, garden or other place in respect of which the licence under section 51 of the Act of 1890 is sought.

(d) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 2 and section 9 of the Act of 1935 shall have effect as if the references therein to a public dancing licence included references to a licence under paragraph 2 of section 51 of the Act of 1890.

(3) The District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine an action for wrongful detention (including jurisdiction to make an order for the return of the goods claimed) where the value of the goods claimed does not exceed £50.

(4) (a) The District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any action commenced after the commencement of this Act which is founded on a credit-sale agreement (within the meaning of the Hire-Purchase Acts, 1946 and 1960) where the amount of the claim does not exceed one hundred pounds.

(b) Paragraph (a) of section 53 of the Act of 1936 shall not apply to an action—

(i) in which the defendant or one of the defendants ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation in the State, and

(ii) to which paragraph (a) of this subsection relates.

Jurisdiction to be exercised pursuant to rules of court (District Court).

34. —The jurisdiction which is by virtue of this Act vested in or exercisable by the District Court shall be exercised as regards pleading, practice and procedure generally, including liability to costs, in the manner provided by rules of court made under section 91 of the Act of 1924, as applied by section 48 of this Act.

Provisions relating to the President of the District Court and to the Dublin Metropolitan District

Qualification for appointment as President of the District Court and assignment.

35. —(1) (a) A justice of the District Court shall be qualified for appointment as President of the District Court, provided however that a person who is a justice of the existing District Court immediately before the operative date shall be qualified for appointment as first President of the District Court.

(b) A person who is qualified for appointment as a justice of the District Court shall be qualified for appointment as President of the District Court, other than as first President thereof.

(2) The President of the District Court shall be permanently assigned by the Government to the Dublin Metropolitan District.

(3) If the President of the District Court is unable to act during any period, then, during that period, the senior of the justices permanently assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District shall have and exercise the powers of the President under this Act.

General powers of President of the District Court.

36. —(1) For ensuring the prompt and efficient discharge of the business of the District Court in the several districts thereof, the President of the District Court shall have and exercise the powers conferred on him by subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section.

(2) (a) Where it appears to the President of the District Court that the conduct of a justice of the District Court is prejudicial to the prompt and efficient discharge of the business of that Court, he shall investigate the matter and may report the result of the investigation to the Minister.

(b) In the course of an investigation under this subsection, the President shall consult the justice concerned.

(3) (a) The President of the District Court may convene meetings of the justices of the District Court for the purpose of discussing matters relating to the discharge of the business of that Court, including, in particular, such matters as the avoidance of undue divergences in the exercise by the justices of the jurisdiction of that Court and the general level of fines and other penalties.

(b) Such meetings shall not be convened more frequently than twice in one year.

(c) Every justice shall attend at every such meeting unless unable to do so owing to illness or any other unavoidable cause and, where a justice is unable to attend such a meeting, he shall as soon as may be inform the President of the reason therefor.

(4) The President of the District Court may, whenever he thinks fit, make recommendations to the Minister in relation to the following matters:

(a) the number of justices of the District Court to be assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District;

(b) the places for holding the District Court in or for any district court area; and

(c) the days and hours for holding the District Court in or for any district court area other than the area for the time being comprising the Dublin Metropolitan District.

Abolition of Divisions of Dublin Metropolitan Justices.

37. —On and from the operative date, the three Divisions of the justices permanently assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District, being the Divisions formed by section 5 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1946, shall stand abolished.

Principal Justices of the Dublin Metropolitan District.

38. —(1) Each person who was nominated under subsection (1) of section 6 (repealed by this Act) of the Act of 1946 to be a Principal Justice of a Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Justices and who is appointed under subsection (1) of section 29 of this Act to be a justice of the District Court shall hold the office of Principal Justice of the Dublin Metropolitan District (to which District such person shall be permanently assigned by the Government) and shall hold that office so long as he holds the office of justice of the District Court.

(2) Where a person who holds the office of Principal Justice of the Dublin Metropolitan District ceases to hold that office, that office, in so far as it was held by that person, shall stand abolished.

Number of justices of Dublin Metropolitan District.

39. —On the operative date, the Minister shall, after consultation with the President of the District Court, determine the number of justices of the District Court to be permanently assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District and may from time to time, as he shall think fit, after consultation with the said President, alter the number of justices to be so assigned to that District.

Places at which business of Dublin Metropolitan District is to be transacted.

40. —On the operative date, the Minister shall, after consultation with the President of the District Court, appoint the places in the Dublin Metropolitan District for the transaction of the business of the District Court in that District and may from time to time, as he shall think fit, after consultation with the said President, alter the places so appointed.

Number of sitting days in each week for justices assigned to Dublin Metropolitan District.

41. —The Minister may from time to time, as he shall think fit, after consultation with the President of the District Court, determine the number of days in each week on which the justices of the District Court assigned to the Dublin Metropolitan District shall normally sit in that District for the transaction of the business of the District Court.

Business of District Court in Dublin Metropolitan District.

42. —(1) The President of the District Court shall—

(a) arrange for the distribution of the business of the District Court in the Dublin Metropolitan District amongst the several justices of the District Court assigned to that District, and

(b) determine the class or classes of business to be transacted in each of the several places appointed by the Minister under section 40 of this Act for the transaction of the business of the District Court in the Dublin Metropolitan District and the days and hours at which such class or classes of business shall be transacted in the several places so appointed.

(2) Before arranging for the distribution of any business under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, the President shall consult with any Principal Justice of the Dublin Metropolitan District.

Restriction of section 26 of Act of 1953.

43. —Before exercising the power conferred on him by paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 26 of the Act of 1953, as applied by section 48 of this Act, the Minister shall consult the President of the District Court.

Ex officio members of District Court Rules Committee.

44. —The ex officio members of the District Court Rules Committee established by section 71 of the Act of 1936, as applied by section 48 of this Act, shall be the President of the District Court (who shall be chairman of the Committee) and such one of the district court clerks of the Dublin Metropolitan District as the Minister shall nominate in that behalf, who shall be secretary of the Committee.