Administration of Justice Act 1928



Administration of Justice Act, 1928

(18 & 19 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 26.

An Act to amend the provisions of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925, relating to probate registrars and registries, and certain other matters, and to amend the law with respect to the constitution of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and otherwise with respect to the administration of justice and matters connected therewith.

[3rd August 1928]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

I Amendments of 15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 49, as to Probate Registrars and Registries.

Part I.

Probate Registrars and Registries.Amendments of 15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 49, as to

S-1 Qualification of probate and district probate registrars, and tenure, &c. of district probate registrars.

1 Qualification of probate and district probate registrars, and tenure, &c. of district probate registrars.

(1) The following subsection shall be substituted for subsection (3) of section one hundred and twenty-six of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925 (in this Act referred to as ‘the principal Act’):—

(3) A person shall not—

(a ) be qualified to be appointed a probate registrar, unless he is a practising barrister or solicitor of not less than ten years' standing, or a district probate registrar of not less than five years' standing, or has served not less than ten years as a clerk in the principal probate registry:

(b ) be qualified to be appointed a district probate registrar unless he is a practising barrister or solicitor of not less than five years' standing, or a probate registrar, or has served not less than ten years as a clerk in the principal probate registry or a district probate registry.’

(2) In Part I. of the Third Schedule to the principal Act after the words ‘Registrar, Probate Division’ there shall be added the words ‘(not including a district probate registrar),’ and the principal Act shall be deemed as from the commencement thereof to have had effect as if the said words had been contained therein as originally enacted.

(3) The following subsection shall be added at the end of section one hundred and nineteen of the principal Act:—

(3) This section shall in relation to a district probate registrar have effect as if for the words 'if appointed since the commencement of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1884 ,' there were substituted the words 'if appointed on or after the first day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight'.’

(4) The following new section shall be inserted after section one hundred and twenty-eight of the principal Act:—

S-128A.

128A.

(1) A district probate registrar shall be an officer of the Supreme Court, and (except in the case of a part-time or provisional registrar) shall be deemed for all purposes to be a permanent civil servant of the State.

(2) If in any case it appears to the President of the Probate Division that the business to be performed in any district probate registry is not such as to require the services of a whole-time registrar, he may, notwithstanding anything in this Act, appoint a person to act as part-time registrar, and a person so appointed shall be entitled to a salary under this Part of this Act, notwithstanding that he has been admitted to his office without a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners.

(3) On a vacancy occurring in the office of a district probate registrar, any person, being a person qualified for appointment as district probate registrar, may be appointed to act as provisional district probate registrar for such period, not exceeding six months from the date on which the vacancy occurs, as the President of the Probate Division may direct and with such remuneration as the President, with the concurrence of the Treasury, may determine.’

(5) In section one hundred and twenty of the principal Act (which provides that officers of the Supreme Court shall not practise as barristers or solicitors) there shall be substituted for the words ‘district probate registrars’ the words ‘any part-time district probate registrars.’

S-2 Temporary provision as to retiring allowances of district probate registrars.

2 Temporary provision as to retiring allowances of district probate registrars.

(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to any district probate registrar who was appointed before the date of the commencement of this Part of this Act and who, having either before that date or within such period after that date as the President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court, with the concurrence of the Treasury, may prescribe, applied to be allowed to retire from his office, is allowed by the President, with the concurrence of the Treasury, to retire therefrom at some specified date, and so retires:—

(a ) If the registrar is one to whom a certificate has been issued by the Civil Service Commissioners, he shall, in addition to the annual compensation allowance for which he may be eligible under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1919, be entitled to a lump sum equal to whichever of the two following amounts is the less, that is to say:—

(i)the amount of the difference between the capitalised value of that annual allowance and the capitalised value of two-thirds of the annual salary on which the said annual allowance is computed (both the said values being calculated in accordance with the tables for life annuities issued by the National Debt Commissioners); or

(ii) the amount of the annual salary of the registrar at the date of his retirement;

(b ) If the registrar is one in whose case a certificate has not been so issued, the Treasury may grant to him by way of compensation such gratuity, not exceeding twice the amount of the salary received by him during his last year of employment, as may seem to them just:

Provided that in the case of a registrar who has not been required to devote his whole time to his employment as a registrar, the foregoing provision shall have effect as if one-and-a-half times the amount of the salary were substituted for twice the amount of the salary.

(2) The decision of the Treasury on any question which arises as to the application of this section to any person, or as to the amount of the compensation allowance, lump sum or gratuity to which a person to whom this section applies is entitled, shall be final, and for the purposes of calculating the amount of the compensation allowance, lump sum or gratuity to be granted to any such person the annual salary of that person at the date of his retirement and for each of the last three years of his employment shall be deemed to include an amount equal to the average annual amount of any agency fees received by him during the three years ending on the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and twenty-five, and any amount so included shall be deemed to have been wholly paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

S-3 Appointment and status of clerks in district probate registries.

3 Appointment and status of clerks in district probate registries.

3. The following subsection shall be substituted for subsection (2) of section one hundred and nine of the principal Act:—

(2) The clerks in a district probate registry shall be appointed by, and shall be removable by, the President of the Probate Division, and shall accordingly be deemed (subject always to the provisions of this Act) to be officers of the Supreme Court:

Provided that the provisions as to officers of the Supreme Court contained in subsection (1) of section one hundred and ten, section one hundred and eleven and subsection (1) of section one hundred and eighteen of this Act shall not have effect in relation to such clerks, and notwithstanding anything in section one hundred and nineteen of this Act any such clerk shall, if the President with the approval of the Treasury so directs, be entitled to a salary under this Part of this Act notwithstanding that he has been admitted to his office without a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners.’

S-4 Superannuation allowances of clerks in district probate registries.

4 Superannuation allowances of clerks in district probate registries.

4. The following section shall be inserted after section one hundred and nine of the principal Act:—

S-109A

109A

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, employment as a clerk in a district probate registry shall, on whatever date the employment commenced, be deemed to be for all purposes employment in the civil service of the State, and if a certificate has been issued to him by the Civil Service Commissioners allowances may be granted in his case accordingly under the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1919:

Provided that, except in so far as the Treasury may direct, no account shall be taken for the purposes of this section of service before the issue of the certificate.

(2) Where a person who was immediately before the first day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight, employed as a clerk in a district probate registry is required by reason only of his having attained any age to retire from service as such a clerk, the Treasury may, if he has been required to devote his whole time to employment as such a clerk and if he had attained the age of fifty-five years before the eighteenth day of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-seven, grant to him by way of compensation such gratuity, not exceeding twice the amount of the salary received by him during his last year of employment, as may seem to them just.

(3) Where any person to whom by...

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