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4 1976

JURIES ACT, 1976

PART III

Selection and Service of Jurors

Supply of electoral registers.

10. —For the purpose of enabling county registrars to empanel and summon jurors, every county council and corporation of a county borough, as registration authority under section 7 (1) of the Electoral Act, 1963 , shall as soon as practicable after the passing of this Act deliver to the county registrar for the county such number of copies of the then current register of Dáil electors for the county or county borough as the county registrar may require and shall do likewise as soon as practicable after the publication of every similar register thereafter.

Empanelling of jurors.

11. —Each county registrar, using a procedure of random or other non-discriminatory selection, shall draw up a panel of jurors for each court from the register or registers delivered to him under section 10 (omitting persons whom he knows or believes not to be qualified as jurors).

Summoning of jurors.

12. —(1) Each county registrar shall cause a written summons, in such form as the Minister may by regulations prescribe, to be served on every person whom he has selected as a juror requiring him to attend as a juror at the court in question on the day and at the time specified in the summons and thereafter at the times directed by the court.

(2) A jury summons served on a person under this section shall be accompanied by a notice informing him—

(a) of the effect of sections 6, 7, 8, 9 (1), 35 and 36, and

(b) that he may make representations to the county registrar with a view to obtaining a withdrawal of the summons, if for any reason he is not qualified for jury service or wishes or is entitled to be excused.

Service of jury summons.

13. —(1) A jury summons may be sent by post or delivered by hand.

(2) For the purposes of section 18 of the Interpretation Act, 1937 , a letter containing a jury summons shall be deemed to be properly addressed if it is addressed to the juror at his address as shown in the current register of Dáil electors.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence of non-attendance in compliance with a jury summons or of not being available when called upon to serve as a juror—

(a) a certificate by the county registrar or an officer acting on his behalf that the registrar or officer posted a letter containing the summons addressed as provided in subsection (2) shall be evidence of the fact so certified;

(b) a certificate by the county registrar or an officer acting on his behalf or a member of the Garda Síochána that the personally delivered the summons to the juror on a specified date shall be evidence of the fact so certified, and

(c) a certificate by the registrar or other officer acting as registrar of a court that a person summoned to attend as a juror in that court failed to answer to his name when it was called out in court shall be evidence that that person failed to attend in compliance with the summons, or was not available when called on to serve, as the case may be.

(4) A document purporting to be a certificate under this section of a county registrar, or officer acting on his behalf, officer of a court or member of the Garda Síochána and to be signed by him shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be such a certificate and to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.

Summoning of jurors to make up deficiency.

14. —(1) If it appears to a judge of a court that a jury to try any issue before the court will or may be incomplete, the judge may require any persons (being persons qualified and liable to serve as jurors in that court) to be summoned by the county registrar in order to make up the number needed.

(2) The judge shall specify the area from which persons may be summoned (which may be the area in the vicinity of the court) and the method of summons, whether by written notice or otherwise.

(3) Section 9 shall apply to persons summoned under this section except that there shall not be an appeal from the county registrar.

(4) The names of persons summoned under this section shall be added to the panel of jurors.

Selection of jury from panel.

15. —(1) The selection of persons empanelled as jurors to serve on a particular jury shall be made by balloting in open court.

(2) The power of summoning jurors under section 14 may be exercised after balloting has begun, as well as earlier, and if it is exercised after balloting has begun the judge may dispense with balloting for persons summoned under that section.

(3) Before the selection is begun the judge shall warn the jurors present that they must not serve if they are ineligible or disqualified and as to the penalty under section 36 for doing so; and he shall invite any person who knows that he is not qualified to serve or who is in doubt as to whether he is qualified or who may have an interest in or connection with the case or the parties to communicate the fact to the judge (either orally or otherwise as the judge may direct or authorise) if he is selected on the ballot.

(4) The foreman shall be such member as the jurors shall choose and the choice shall be made at such time as the judge may direct or, in the absence of a direction, before the jury bring in their verdict or make any other communication to the judge.

Inspection of jury panel.

16. —(1) Every person shall be entitled to reasonable facilities to inspect a panel of jurors free of charge and a party to any proceedings, civil or criminal, to be tried with a jury shall be entitled to a copy free of charge on application to the county registrar.

(2) The rights under subsection (1) shall be exercisable at any time between the issue of the summonses and the close of the trial or the time when it is no longer possible to have a trial with a jury.

(3) The panel referred to in subsection (1) is the panel as prepared for and in advance of the sittings, including any supplemental panel so prepared, and it shall not be necessary to indicate in it that any of the persons in it have been excused in the meantime, or to include any persons summoned under section 14.

(4) The right to inspect the panel shall, however, include a right to be shown, on request, all alterations to the panel and the names of any persons summoned under section 14 and, on request, to be told of any excusals.

Mode of swearing a jury.

17. —(1) When swearing a juror the registrar or other officer acting as registrar shall call out the juror's name and direct him to take the Testament in his hand and shall administer the oath to him in accordance with sections 18 and 19.

(2) The jurors shall be sworn separately.

(3) Any juror who objects to be sworn in the ordinary manner shall make his objection immediately after his name is called out and before the administration of the oath to him has begun.

(4) Every challenge of a juror shall be made immediately after his name is called out and before the administration of the oath to him has begun.

(5) If any juror refuses to be sworn or insists on being sworn in a manner not authorised by this Act or otherwise by law, he shall not be included in the jury then being sworn.

(6) For the purposes of this section the administration of an oath shall be deemed to be begun when the registrar or other officer begins to say the words of the oath to the juror being sworn.

(7) In this section and in the next following section the word “Testament” means, in the case of a person of the Christian faith, the New Testament and, in the case of a person of the Jewish faith, the Old Testament.

Administration of oath to jurors.

18. —(1) The ordinary manner of administering the oath shall be as follows:

The juror to be sworn shall hold the Testament in his uplifted hand and the registrar or other officer shall say to the juror the words “I swear by Almighty God that.....” followed by the appropriate form of oath provided by section 19 and the juror shall repeat after him the words so spoken by him.

(2) The Oaths Act, 1888 (which provides for the making of an affirmation instead of an oath) and also every Act for the time being in force authorising an oath to be taken in a court in any particular manner shall apply to the oaths required by this Act to be taken by jurors.

(3) A juror who states that he has a religious belief but that he is neither of the Christian nor of the Jewish faith may, if the judge so permits, be sworn in any manner that the juror states to be binding on him.

(4) The oath shall be administered to every juror in the ordinary manner without question unless the juror appears to be physically incapable of taking the oath in that manner or objects to taking the oath in that manner and satisfies the judge that he is entitled to take the oath in some other manner.

Forms of oaths to be taken by jurors.

19. —(1) Whenever the issue to be tried is whether an accused person is or is not guilty of an offence, the form of oath to be administered to the jurors shall be as follows :

“I will well and truly try the issue whether the accused is (or are) guilty or not guilty of the offence (or the several offences) charged in the indictment preferred against him (or her or them) and a true verdict give according to the evidence.”

(2) Whenever the issue to be tried is whether an accused person is or is not competent to plead, the form of oath to be administered to the jurors shall be as follows :

“I will well and diligently inquire whether (stating the name of the accused person), the prisoner at the bar, be insane or not and a true verdict give according to the best of my understanding.”

(3) Whenever the issue to be tried is not one of the issues hereinbefore expressly provided for, the form of oath to be administered to the jurors shall be as follows :

“I will well and truly try all such issues as shall be given to me to try and true verdicts give according to the evidence.”

Challenges without cause shown.

20. —(1) In every trial of a civil issue which is tried with a jury each party may challenge without cause shown seven jurors and no more.

(2) In every trial of a criminal issue which is tried with a jury the prosecution and each accused person may challenge without cause shown seven jurors and no more.

(3) Whenever a juror is lawfully challenged without cause shown, he shall not be included in the jury.

Challenges for cause shown.

21. —(1) In every trial of a civil issue which is tried with a jury any party may challenge for cause shown any number of jurors.

(2) In every trial of a criminal issue which is tried with a jury the prosecution and each accused person may challenge for cause shown any number of jurors.

(3) Whenever a juror is challenged for cause shown, such cause shall be shown immediately upon the challenge being made and the judge shall then allow or disallow the challenge as he shall think proper.

(4) Whenever a juror is challenged for cause shown and such challenge is allowed by the judge, the juror shall not be included in the jury.

View by jury.

22. —(1) In the trial of any issue with a jury the judge may, at any time after the jurors have been sworn and before they have given their verdict, by order direct that the jurors shall have a view of any place specified in the order which in the opinion of the judge it is expedient for the purposes of the trial that the jurors should see, and when any such order is made the judge may adjourn the trial at such stage and for such time as appears to him to be convenient for the execution of the order.

(2) In the trial of a civil issue, an order under this section shall be made only on the application of one of the parties and the expenses of the conveyance of the jurors to and from the place specified in the order shall be paid in the first instance by the party on whose application the order was made but shall be included in the costs of that party and be ultimately borne accordingly.

(3) In the trial of a criminal issue, an order under this section shall be made only on the application of the prosecution or of the accused person or of one or more of the accused persons and the expenses of the conveyance of the jurors to and from the place specified in the order shall be paid by the county registrar or other officer acting as registrar to the court during the trial out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas.

(4) Whenever a judge makes an order under this section, he shall give such directions as appear to him to be expedient for the purpose of preventing undue communication with the jurors during the execution of the order.

Death or discharge of juror during trial.

23. —Whenever in the course of the trial of any issue a juror dies or is discharged by the judge owing to his being incapable through illness or any other cause of continuing to act as a juror, or under section 9 (7) or 24, the jury shall, unless the judge otherwise directs or the number of jurors is thereby reduced below ten, be considered as remaining properly constituted for all the purposes of the trial and the trial shall proceed and a verdict may be found accordingly.

Discontinuance of juror's service.

24. —In any trial with a jury the judge may at any stage direct that any person summoned or sworn as a juror shall not serve, or shall not continue to serve, as a juror if the judge considers that for any stated reason it is desirable in the interests of justice that he should give that direction.

Separation of jurors during trial.

25. —In any trial with a jury the jurors may separate before considering their verdict except where the judge otherwise directs.

Non-effect of appeals as to electoral register on jury service.

26. —The qualification or liability of a person to serve as a juror shall not be affected by the fact that an appeal is pending under section 8 of the Electoral Act, 1963 (which relates to appeals regarding the register of electors).