PART VIII

Circuit Court

32. —(1) Where a person (in this section referred to as “the accused”) has been sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court, sitting other than within the Dublin Circuit, the judge of the Circuit Court before whom the accused is triable may, on the application of the prosecutor or the accused, if satisfied that it would be manifestly unjust not to do so, transfer the trial to the Circuit Court sitting within the Dublin Circuit and the decision to grant or refuse the application shall be final and unappealable.

(2) Provision may be made by rules of court for the giving of notice of intention to make an application under subsection (1) of this section and of the grounds on which such application will be based.

(3) Where—

(a) two or more accused are sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court sitting other than within the Dublin Circuit and it is proposed to try them together, and

(b) an application by one or more, but not all, of the accused under subsection (1) of this section is granted,

an application, without notice to the accused, by the prosecutor to the judge who granted the application to have the trial of one or more of the remaining accused transferred to the Circuit Court sitting within the Dublin Circuit shall be granted.

33. —The President of the District Court shall be an ex officio judge of the Circuit Court.

34. —(1) Without prejudice to any powers, authorities, duties or functions that may be exercised by or conferred by statute or by rules of court on a County Registrar, a County Registrar may make any of the orders mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Act.

(2) All orders of a County Registrar shall be subject to appeal to the Circuit Court.

35. —The Court Officers Act, 1945 , is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) of section 9 of that Act, of the following subsection:

“9.—(1) (a) Where there is a vacancy in an office attached to any court or the holder of an office attached to any court is absent or incapacitated, the Minister may, subject to subsection (2) of this section, require and authorise any officer attached to that or any other court to perform, during a specified period or until otherwise directed by the Minister, the duties (in addition to his or her own duties) of such office.

(b) Notwithstanding the provision of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may, where the Minister considers it appropriate, require and authorise a County Registrar to perform, during a specified period or until otherwise directed by the Minister, the duties (in addition to his or her own duties) of any other County Registrar.”.

36.— Section 2 of the Courts Act, 1977 , is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (a) (inserted by the Courts Act, 1991 ) of subsection (1):

“(a) There shall be ten judges of the Circuit Court permanently assigned to the Dublin Circuit.

(aa) There shall be three judges of the Circuit Court permanently assigned to the Cork Circuit.”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2) (inserted by the Courts Act, 1991 ):

“(2) Where a judge of the Circuit Court is appointed, the Government shall permanently assign him or her—

(a) to the Dublin Circuit if at the date of the appointment there are less than ten judges permanently assigned to that circuit, or

(b) to the Cork Circuit if at the date of the appointment there are less than three judges permanently assigned to that circuit, or

(c) to any other circuit to which at the date of appointment there is no judge permanently assigned.”.