Crawford v M'Cann

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 28 March 1859
• Date: 28 March 1859
• Court: Circuit Court

Circuit Case.

CRAWFORD

and

M'CANN.

Appendix. iii CRAWFORD v. WCANN.* 1859. Circuit Case. March 28. APPEAL from a decree of J. H. Otway, Esq., the Chairman 'of the Quarter Sessions of the County of Antrim. It appeared that upon the case, which was a matter of account, coming before the ChairÂÂman at the January Quarter Sessions, it was referred in Court, by the consent of the parties, to two arbitrators, and an entry of such reference made in the Clerk of the Peace's book. The arbitrators awarded 17 to the plaintiff; and the Chairman made a decree in favour of the plaintiff for that amount. Seeds was proceeding to open the appeal, when it was objected, on behalf of the plaintiff, that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal, the decree not being a decree within the meaning of section 127 of the Civil-bill Act (14 & 15 Vic., c. 57). PIGOT, C. B. So long as the award of the arbitrators stands unimpeached, I have no jurisdiction to enter upon this appeal. This case stands upon precisely the same footing as where parties at Nisi Prius consent to refer the matters in dispute to arbitration, and that 'consen't is made a rule of Court. The award of the arbitrators in that case is decisive ; the parties have selected their own tribunal, and a Court of Law has no jurisdiction to set aside that award, unless the award itself is successfully impeached. Although the learned Chairman has in this case made a decree, yet that was subject to the award, and only for the...