Court of Chancery (Ireland) Regulation Act 1850
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1850 c. 89 |
| Year | 1850 |
(13 & 14 Vict.) C A P. LXXXIX.
[14th August 1850]
'WHEREAS it is expedient to regulate the Proceedings in the High Court of Chancery inIreland ,and otherwise to improve the Procedure of the said Court:' Be it enacted by the Queen'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, That in any Casein which a Suit might be instituted in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery inIreland by way of Bill or Information, it shall be lawful for any Person who would have been entitled to file such Bill or Information to apply to the said Court by Petition for the Relief which might have been prayed for by any such Bill or Information; and Service of Notice of such Petition shall be made, as herein-after provided, upon such Persons as the Petitioner thinks fit, but with Power to the Court from Time to Time to direct any further Service of the same; and Service of such Notice being made, the Person so served shall from the Time of such Service become a Party to such Proceeding, and be bound thereby in all respects, in the same Manner as if a Bill or Information had been filed and such Person had appeared to a Subpoena to appear and answer.
II Court to have same Jurisdiction on Petition, and Order to have same Authority, as in a Suit.
II. And be it enacted, That the Court shall have and exercise, in and about any Matter so brought before it upon Petition, the same Jurisdiction, Powers, Authorities, and Discretion, to all Intents and Purposes, as it could have exercised in a Suit for the same Purpose instituted by way of Bill or Information; and all Orders of the Court to be made in any such Matter may be made in the same Manner, whether upon Motion or otherwise, and shall have the same Authority and Effect, and may be enrolled in the same Manner, and shall be binding upon the same Persons, under whatsoever Disability they may be, and may be enforced by the same or any such Process, and shall be subject to Rehearing and Appeal, in the same Manner in all respects, except as herein provided, as if the same had been made in a Suit so instituted as aforesaid; and every Order which shall be in the Nature of a Decree shall have the same Effect as a Decree; and every Petition presented under this Act shall have the same Effect in making any Infant a Ward of Court as a Bill filed in the Matter would have had; and every such Petition shall have the same Effect as a Bill in Equity with respect to Proceedings for Redemption under the Acts relating to Ejectment for Nonpayment of Rent, and also in Suits to foreclose Mortgages, and to perpetuate the Testimony of Witnesses under the Acts relating thereto.
III Proviso.
III. Provided always, and be it enacted, That if it appear to the Court that the Relief prayed for by any such Petition as aforesaid, or any Partthereof, cannot be safely or conveniently granted, or that the Object or any of the Objects of such Petition, or any Part thereof respectively, cannot be safely or conveniently attained under the Procedure of this Act, it shall be lawful for the Court to direct a Suit to be instituted by way of Bill or Information, and by such Persons as the Court thinks fit, and either to retain or dismiss the Petition accordingly.
IV Persons objecting to Proceedings under the Act may apply for Order thata Suit be prosecuted in the ordinary Way at the Peril of Costs.
IV. Provided also, and be it enacted, That if any Person interested or claiming to be interested in the Matter of any Petition presented under this Act, or whose Rights may be injuriously affected by the Order to be made on such Petition, desire that the Relief sought thereby may be sought in a Suit to be prosecuted in the ordinary Way, it shall be lawful for such Person at any Time, whether such Petition have been referred to the Master, as herein-after provided, or not, to apply to the Court, upon Motion in a summary Way, for an Order directing that the Matter of such Petition or any Part thereof be not further proceeded with under this Act, or that a Suit with respect thereto may be instituted or proceeded with in the ordinary Way, and thereupon the Court shall make such Order as shall be just; but the Costs of all Parties to be occasioned by any such Application shall (except so far as the Court otherwise specially directs) be paid and borne by the Person by whom such Application is made; and it shall be lawful for the Court, if it think fit, by any such Order to require that such Security as it thinks fit be given by the Party making such Application, for answering the additional Costs, if any, to be occasioned by reason of such Suit or other Proceeding being instituted.
V Verification of Petition.
V. And be it enacted, That every Petition to be presented under this Act may be verified by Affidavit annexed thereto or subscribed at the Foot thereof in the Form or to the Effect set out in the Schedule annexed to this Act; and that with respect to Petitions authorized to be referred to the Master in a summary Way, as herein-after provided, no Costs of any further or additional Affidavit in Verification shall be allowed, unless specially allowed by the Court.
VI Petitioners may annex Interrogatories to their Petition.
VI. And be it enacted, That upon presenting any such Petition as aforesaid the Petitioner may, if he think fit, annex to his Petition Interrogatories, to be answered by the Respondents to such Petition, or such of them as he requires to answer the same, or he may file such Interrogatories at any later Stage of the Proceedings on such Petition.
VII Respondents may file Interrogatories, to be answered by Petitioners.
VII. And be it enacted, That the Respondents to any such Petition, or any of them, may, if they think fit, annex to their Affidavits filed in answer to such Petition, or may otherwise file, Interrogatories, to be answered by the Petitioners or any of them, touching the Matters alleged in such Affidavit or Petition, and that whether such Respondents file a cross Petition or not, or they may file such Interrogatories at any later Stage of the Proceedings on such Petition.
VIII Interrogatories not to be filed except by Leave of the Court.
VIII. Provided always, and be it enacted, That, except so far as may be otherwise provided by any General Orders to be made as herein-after mentioned, no such Interrogatories shall in either of the Cases aforesaid be filed without Leave of the Court first obtained upon Motion supported by Affidavit, and which may be madeex parte or otherwise as the Court shall direct.
IX Practice as to answering the Interrogatories to be same as on Bill and Subpoena.
IX. And be it enacted, That, until and except so far as it shall be otherwise provided by any Rule or Order to be made as herein-after mentioned, the Practice as to answering and enforcing an Answer to such Interrogatories shall be the same as upon a Bill or cross Bill filed, except that such Answer shall be taken in the same way that an Affidavit is taken, and the Person required to answer any such Interrogatories shall, on being served with a Copy thereof, be subject to the same Obligation as to answering the same, and the Court may exercise the same Powers for enforcing such Answer, and the Production of Documents therein referred to, as if a Bill or cross Bill had been filed against such Person, and he had been served with Subpoena to answer the same, and had appeared thereto, or an Appearance had been entered for him on the Part of the Plaintiff, pursuant to an Act of the Fourth and Fifth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty KingWilliam the Fourth, intituled An Actfor the Amendment of the Proceedings and Practice of the High Court of Chancery in Ireland: Provided always, that every such Person shall be entitled to the Benefit of the same or the like Objection to answering any such Interrogatories as he might have insisted on by way of Plea or Demurrer in a Suit instituted in the ordinary Way.
X Petitions to be heard before the Lord Chancellor as Causes are now heard,and Petitions and Affidavits to be filed in Rolls Office and entered in a Book.
X. And be it enacted, That every Petition to be presented under the Authority of this Act shall be entitled ‘Cause Petition under 'The Court of Chancery (Ireland ) Regulation Act, 1850,'’ and shall be heard as Causes are now heard before the Lord Chancellor, unless in Cases where the Lord Chancellor specially directs the same to be heard before the Master of the Rolls, but no Subpoena to hear Judgment shall be required; and every such Petition, and all Affidavits and Interrogatories, and Answers to Interrogatories, in the Matter of any such Petition shall be filed in the Office of the Deputy Keeper of the Rolls in Ireland in like Manner as Bills and Answers are now filed there, and an Entry of such Petitions and Affidavits shall be made in a Book or Books to be kept for that Purpose, in like Manner as Bills and other Pleadings are now entered in the said Office, subject nevertheless to such...
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