Courts of justice act, 1928

• Act Number: 15
• Enactment Date: 23 July 1928

Number 15 of 1928.
COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1928.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Interpretation. 2. Illness or absence of Chief Justice. 3. Lunacy jurisdiction. 4. Amendment of lunacy forms. 5. Additional powers of the Court of Criminal Appeal. 6. Execution of sentence in case of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal. 7. Interlocutory applications to Court of Criminal Appeal. 8. Certain orders of the Master of the High Court not to be impugned. 9. Additional Judges of the Circuit Court. 10. Judge of the Circuit Court acting outside his own Circuit. 11. Circuit Court Appeals. 12. Circuit Court Appeals in Admiralty causes. 13. Assistant Justices of the District Court. 14. Qualification for appointment of assistant Justice of the District Court. 15. Justice of the District Court acting outside his own District. 16. Amendment of section 77 of the Principal Act. 17. Additional jurisdiction of the District Court. 18. Appeals from the District Court in criminal cases. 19. Proceedings on arrest. 20. Amendment of section 94 of the Principal Act. 21. Amendment of section 70 of the Dublin Police Act, 1842. 22. Repeals. 23. Short title construction and citation.
SCHEDULE .
Acts Referred to Courts of Justice Act, 1924 No. 10 of 1924 District Justices (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 No. 6 of 1923
Number 15 of 1928.
COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1928.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1924 , TO MAKE PROVISION IN RELATION TO CERTAIN ORDERS MADE BY THE MASTER OF THE HIGH COURT AND TO AMEND SECTION 70 OF THE DUBLIN POLICE ACT, 1842 . [23rd July, 1928.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—
	Interpretation.	1.—(1) In this Act—
	the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice; the expression “the Principal Act” means the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924); and
	the expression “the Chief Justice” means the Chief Justice of the Irish Free State.
	(2) In every Act passed after this Act references to the Chief Justice shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to the Chief Justice of the Irish Free State.
	Illness or absence of Chief Justice.	2.—Whenever the Chief Justice is unable through illness or absence from Saorstát Eireann to transact the business of his office, the jurisdictions transferred to and vested in him by section 19 of the Principal Act and all statutory authorities and functions for the time being vested in him in virtue of his office shall be exercised and performed by the President of the High Court or, in the event of the said President being prevented through illness or absence from Saorstát Eireann from exercising the said jurisdictions and authorities and performing the said functions, by the senior ordinary Judge of the Supreme Court or, in the event of both the said President and such ordinary Judge being so prevented, by the junior ordinary Judge of the Supreme Court.
	Lunacy jurisdiction.	3.—It is hereby declared that references in the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act, 1871 , and the Acts amending the same and any rules and orders made thereunder to “the Lord Chancellor entrusted as aforesaid” shall be construed and have effect as references to the Chief Justice and shall be deemed so to have had effect as from the commencement of Part I of the Principal Act.
	Amendment of lunacy forms.	4.—The Chief Justice may from time to time by order made under section 118 of the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act, 1871 , amend any form prescribed by or under that Act for use in relation to the jurisdiction in lunacy matters transferred to him by section 19 of the Principal Act by substituting in such form the expression “ward of court” or such other similar expression as he shall think proper for the word “lunatic” and the expression “person of unsound mind” respectively and making such further consequential amendments in such form as shall appear to him to be necessary and proper.
	Additional powers of the Court of Criminal Appeal.	5.—(1) In addition to the jurisdictions conferred on the Court of Criminal Appeal by section 34 of the Principal Act, the Court of Criminal Appeal or, on appeal, the Supreme Court shall have the following jurisdictions, that is to say:—
	(a) the Court may notwithstanding that they are of opinion that a point raised in an appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, dismiss the appeal if they consider that no miscarriage of justice has actually occurred;
	(b) where the Court reverse a conviction in whole, the Court shall have jurisdiction to make an order (in this section referred to as an order for a re-trial) authorising the person in respect of whom such conviction was obtained to be re-tried for the same offence as that which was the subject of such conviction and shall order that the costs of the appeal and of the new trial of the accused person shall be paid by the State, unless the Court shall be of opinion that the necessity for the appeal and the new trial has been caused or contributed to by the defence, and may by such order or any subsequent order direct the person in respect of whose conviction the order was made to be retained in custody or to be admitted to bail on such terms as they think proper.
	(2) Whenever an order for a re-trial is made under this section by the Court of Criminal Appeal or the Supreme Court the person in respect of whose conviction the order was made may, not-withstanding any rule of law, be again indicted and tried and, if found guilty, sentenced for the offence which was the subject of such conviction.
	Execution of sentence in case of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal.	6.—(1) In the case of a sentence of death or corporal punishment—
	(a) the sentence shall not in any case be executed until after the expiration of the time within which notice of appeal or of an application for leave to appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal may be given in accordance with Rules of Court, and
	(b) if such notice is so given, the appeal or the application for leave to appeal shall be heard and determined with as much expedition as practicable, and the sentence shall not be executed until after the determination of the appeal, or, in cases where an application for leave to appeal is refused, of the application.
	(2) Where in the case of a conviction involving sentence of death the appeal is dismissed or the application for leave to appeal is refused by the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Court shall fix a day for the execution of the sentence which day shall not be less than 14 or more than 18 clear days after the day when the appeal is dismissed or the application for leave to appeal is refused, and the sentence pronounced at the trial shall have effect as if, for the day therein mentioned, the day fixed in pursuance of this sub-section were substituted.
	Interlocutory applications to Court of Criminal Appeal.	7.—Where a person convicted on indictment before the Central Criminal Court or the Circuit Court appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeal or applies to the Court of Criminal Appeal for leave to appeal, any interlocutory application in relation to such appeal or application may be heard and determined by the Chief Justice or by any Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice for that purpose.
	Certain orders of the Master of the High Court not to be impugned.	8.—An order of the Master of the High Court made before the 8th day of December, 1927, in purported exercise of jurisdiction conferred on him by Statute or Rule of Court shall not after the passing of this Act be impugned, set aside or reversed on the ground that the jurisdiction to make such order was not conferred on the said Master by such Statute or Rule of Court.
	Additional Judges of the Circuit Court.	9.—(1) So much of section 37 of the Principal Act as limits the number of the Judges of the Circuit Court shall cease to have effect and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the Circuit Court shall consist of not more than ten Judges.
	(2) A Judge of the Circuit Court (but not more than two such Judges at any one time) may, in lieu of being permanently assigned to a particular Circuit, be temporarily assigned by the Minister from time to time as occasion requires to any Circuit as an additional Judge for such Circuit and every such Judge shall, while so assigned to a Circuit, have in...