Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act 1877
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1877 c. 57 |
Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland), 1877
(40 & 41 Vict.) CHAPTER 57.
An Act for the constitution of a Supreme Court of Judicature, and for other purposes relating to the better Administration of Jutices, in Ireland.
[14th August 1877]
W HEREAS it is expedient to constitute a Supreme Court of Judicature, and to make provision for the better administration of justice, in Ireland:
Be it therefore 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, as follows:
Preliminary.
1 Short title.
This Act may be cited for all purposes as the ‘ Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland), 1877.’
2 Commencement of Act.
This Act, except where otherwise expressly provided, shall commence and come into operation on the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
3 Interpretation of terms.
In the construction of this Act, unless there is anything in the subject or context repugnant thereto, the several expressions herein-after mentioned shall have, or include, the meanings following; (that is to say,)
‘High Court of Chancery’ and ‘Court of Chancery’ respectively shall mean the High Court of Chancery in Ireland, and shall include the Lord Chancellor.
‘Court of Queen's Bench’ shall mean the Court of Queen's Bench in Ireland.
‘Court of Common Pleas’ shall mean the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland.
‘Court of Exchequer’ shall mean the Court of Exchequer in Ireland.
‘High Court of Admiralty’ shall mean the High Court of Admiralty of Ireland.
‘Court of Probate’ shall mean the Court of Probate in Ireland.
‘Court for Matrimonial Causes and Matters’ shall mean the Court for Matrimonial Causes and Matters in Ireland.
‘Landed Estates Court’ shall mean the Landed Estates Court, Ireland.
‘Court of Bankruptcy’ shall mean the Court of Bankruptcy in Ireland.
‘Lord Lieutenant’ shall mean the Lord Lieutenant or other Chief Governor or Governors of Ireland for the time being.
‘Lord Chancellor’ shall mean Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and shall include Lords Commissioners and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Ireland.
‘The Lord Chief Justice’ shall mean the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
‘Master of the Rolls’ shall mean the Master of the Rolls in Ireland.
‘Lord Justice of Appeal’ shall mean the Lord Justice of Appeal in Chancery in Ireland.
‘Vice-Chancellor’ shall mean the Vice-Chancellor of Ireland.
‘High Court’ shall mean Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in Ireland established by this Act.
‘Court of Appeal’ shall mean Her Majesty's Court of Appeal in Ireland established by this Act.
‘The Treasury’ shall mean the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury for the time being, or any two of them.
‘Rules of Court’ shall include forms.
‘Cause’ shall include any action, suit, or other original proceeding between a plaintiff and a defendant, and any criminal proceeding by the Crown.
‘Suit’ shall include action.
‘Action’ shall mean a civil proceeding commenced by writ, or in such other manner as may be prescribed by Rules of Court, and shall not include a criminal proceeding by or in the name of the Crown.
‘Plaintiff’ shall include every person asking any relief (otherwise than by way of counter-claim as a defendant) against any other person by any form of proceeding, whether the same be taken by cause, action, suit, petition, motion, summons, or otherwise.
‘Petitioner’ shall include every person making any application to the Court, either by petition, motion, or summons, otherwise than as against any defendant.
‘Defendant’ shall include every person served with any writ of summons or process, or served with notice of, or entitled to attend any proceedings.
‘Party’ shall include every person served with notice of, or attending any proceeding; although not named on the Record.
‘Matter’ shall include every proceeding in the Court not in a cause.
‘Pleading’ shall include any petition or summons, and also shall include the statements in writing of the claim or demand of any plaintiff, and of the defence of any defendant thereto, and of the reply of the plaintiff to any counter-claim of a defendant.
‘Judgment’ shall include decree.
‘Order’ shall include rule.
‘Oath’ shall include solemn affirmation and statutory declaration.
‘Crown cases reserved’ shall mean such questions of law reserved in criminal trials as are mentioned in the Act of the eleventh and twelfth years of Her Majesty's reign, chapter seventy-eight.
‘Pension’ shall include retirement and superannuation allowance.
‘Existing’ shall mean existing at the time appointed for the commencement of this Act.
‘Registration of Voters Acts’ shall mean the Act of the session of the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter sixty-nine, and all other Acts or parts of Acts relating to the registration or qualification of persons entitled to vote at the election of members to serve in Parliament for Ireland.
‘Land’ shall have the same meaning as in the Act of the session of the twenty-first and twenty-second years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter seventy-two, intituled ‘An Act to facilitate the sale and transfer of land in Ireland.’
‘Officers’ shall include ‘clerks.’
PART I.
Constitution and Judges of Court of Judicature.
4 Union of existing Courts into one Supreme Court of Judicature.
From and after the time appointed for the commencement of this Act, the several Courts herein-after mentioned, (that is to say,) The High Court of Chancery, the Court of Queen's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of Exchequer, the Court of Probate, the Court for Matrimonial Causes and Matters, and the Landed Estates Court, shall be united and consolidated together, and shall constitute, under and subject to the provisions of this Act, one Supreme Court of Judicature in Ireland.
5 Division of Supreme Court into a Court of original and a Court of appellate jurisdiction.
The said Supreme Court shall consist of two permanent Divisions, one of which, under the name of ‘Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in Ireland,’ shall have and exercise original jurisdiction, with such appellate jurisdiction from inferior Courts as is herein-after mentioned, and the other of which under the name of ‘Her Majesty's Court of Appeal in Ireland,’ shall have and exercise appellate jurisdiction, with such original jurisdiction as herein-after mentioned as may be incident to the determination of any appeal.
6 Constitution of High Court of Justice in Ireland.
Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in Ireland shall be constituted as follows:—The first Judges thereof shall be the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, the Vice-Chancellor, the several Puisne Justices of the Courts of Queen's Bench and Common Pleas respectively, the several Junior Barons of the Court of Exchequer, the Judge of the Court of Probate and of the Court for Matrimonial Causes and Matters, and the Judges of the Landed Estates Court, except such, if any, of the aforesaid Judges as shall be appointed an ordinary Judge of the Court of Appeal.
The Lord Chancellor shall be appointed and shall hold his office in the same manner as heretofore.
Whenever the office of a Judge of the said High Court, other than the Lord Chancellor, shall become vacant, a new Judge may be appointed thereto by Her Majesty by Letters Patent.
All persons to be hereafter appointed to fill the places of the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the Lord Chief Baron, and their successors respectively, shall continue to be appointed to the same respective offices, with the same precedence, and by the same respective titles, and in the same manner respectively as heretofore. Every Judge, other than the Lord Chancellor and the Judges last mentioned, who shall be appointed to fill the place of any Judge of the High Court of Justice, shall be styled in his appointment ‘Judge of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in Ireland.’
The vacancy now existing in the office of Puisne Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and any vacancy which may exist at the time of the passing of this Act in the office of Junior Baron of the Court of Exchequer, or in case there be no such vacancy at that time, then the first such vacancy which shall occur after the passing of this Act, shall not be filled up.
Provided always, that when first after the commencement of this Act one of the existing Judges of the Landed Estates Court shall die, resign, or otherwise vacate his office, the vacancy thus occasioned shall not be filled up until a Commission shall have been issued by Her Majesty under Her Royal Sign Manual to ascertain and report whether the business in connexion with the Division of the High Court of Justice (herein-after termed the Chancery Division) makes it requisite that such appointment should be made, nor until the expiration of a period of forty days after the date of such report, if Parliament be then sitting, and if Parliament be not then sitting, until the expiration of a period of forty days after the commencement of the then next Session of Parliament.
All the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be addressed in the manner which is now customary in addressing the Judges of the Superior Courts of Common Law in Ireland, and shall have in all respects, save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided, equal power, authority, and jurisdiction.
The Lord Chancellor for the time being, or in...
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