First Previous (PART 3 Courts)

31 2004

Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004

Chapter 2

Miscellaneous Provisions

Definitions.

39. —In this Chapter—

“Act of 1976” means the Family Home Protection Act 1976 ;

“Act of 1981” means the Courts Act 1981 ;

“Act of 1989” means the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 ;

“Act of 1991” means the Courts Act 1991 ;

“Act of 1995” means the Family Law Act 1995 ;

“Act of 1996” means the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 .

Proceedings heard otherwise than in public.

40. —(1) In this section “court” includes the Master of the High Court.

(2) For the purposes of this section each of the following shall be a “relevant enactment”—

(a) section 2(1B) (inserted by section 20 of the Courts Act 1971 ) of the Legitimacy Act 1931 ;

(b) section 45 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 (in so far as it relates to matrimonial causes or matters, or minor matters);

(c) section 25 of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 ;

(d) section 10 of the Act of 1976;

(e) section 36 of the Status of Children Act 1987 ;

(f) section 34 of the Act of 1989;

(g) section 7 of the Maintenance Act 1994 ;

(h) section 33 of the Act of 1995;

(i) section 38 of the Act of 1995;

(j) section 38 of the Act of 1996;

(k) section 16 of the Domestic Violence Act 1996 .

(3) Nothing contained in a relevant enactment shall operate to prohibit—

(a) the preparation by a barrister at law or a solicitor or a person falling within any other class of persons specified in regulations made by the Minister and publication of a report of proceedings to which the relevant enactment relates, or

(b) the publication of the decision of the court in such proceedings,

in accordance with rules of court, provided that the report or decision does not contain any information which would enable the parties to the proceedings or any child to which the proceedings relate to be identified and, accordingly, unless in the special circumstances of the matter the court, for reasons which shall be specified in the direction, otherwise directs, a person referred to in paragraph (a) may, for the purposes of preparing such a report, attend the proceedings subject to any directions the court may give in that behalf.

(4) Nothing contained in a relevant enactment shall operate to prohibit a party to proceedings to which the enactment relates from supplying copies of, or extracts from, orders made in the proceedings to such persons and in accordance with such conditions (if any) as may be prescribed by order of the Minister.

(5) Nothing contained in a relevant enactment shall operate to prohibit a party to proceedings to which the enactment relates from being accompanied, in such proceedings, in court by another person subject to the approval of the court and any directions it may give in that behalf.

(6) Nothing contained in an enactment that prohibits proceedings to which the enactment relates from being heard in public shall operate to prohibit the production of a document prepared for the purposes or in contemplation of such proceedings or given in evidence in such proceedings, to—

(a) a body or other person when it, or he or she, is performing functions under any enactment consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter, or

(b) such body or other person as may be prescribed by order made by the Minister, when the body or person concerned is performing functions consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter as may be so prescribed.

(7) Nothing contained in an enactment that prohibits proceedings to which the enactment relates from being heard in public shall operate to prohibit the giving of information or evidence given in such proceedings to—

(a) a body or other person when it, or he or she, is performing functions under any enactment consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter, or

(b) such body or other person as may be prescribed by order made by the Minister, when the body or person concerned is performing functions consisting of the conducting of a hearing, inquiry or investigation in relation to, or adjudicating on, any matter as may be so prescribed.

(8) A court hearing proceedings under a relevant enactment shall, on its own motion or on the application of one of the parties to the proceedings, have discretion to order disclosure of documents, information or evidence connected with or arising in the course of the proceedings to third parties if such disclosure is required to protect the legitimate interests of a party or other person affected by the proceedings.

(9) A hearing, inquiry or investigation referred to in subsection (6) or (7) shall, in so far as it relates to a document referred to in subsection (6) or information or evidence referred to in subsection (7), be conducted otherwise than in public and no such document, information or evidence shall be published.

(10) This section shall apply to proceedings brought, and decisions of a court made, whether before or after the commencement of this section.

Interest on costs, charges or expenses of certain judgments, orders or decrees.

41. —(1) Section 30 of the Act of 2002 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to section 23 of the Act of 1981, interest on the amount of costs, charges or expenses awarded to a party in proceedings in a court, to which section 27 of the Debtors (Ireland) Act 1840 applies, pursuant to a judgment, order or decree of the court, shall—

(a) not be payable until—

(i) if the amount aforesaid is agreed by the parties to the proceedings, the date of such agreement, or

(ii) in default of agreement—

(I) the date on which a certificate of taxation (which expression includes an interim certificate of taxation) in respect of the amount aforesaid is issued by a taxing master of the High Court or by a county registrar exercising the powers of such a taxing master, as may be appropriate, or

(II) if appropriate, in the case of proceedings in the Circuit Court, the date on which a county registrar measures the amount aforesaid in accordance with rules of court,

and

(b) be payable at the rate for the time being standing specified in section 26 of the Debtors (Ireland) Act 1840, from the appropriate date aforesaid until that amount is paid.”.

(2) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 30 of the Act of 2002 are repealed.

(3) The amendments to section 30 of the Act of 2002 effected by this section apply to—

(a) actions brought on or after the commencement of this section, and

(b) actions pending on the date of such commencement.

Certain officers to act as registrar of Central Criminal Court.

42. —The Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended by the insertion, in paragraph 6, of the following subparagraph:

“(1A) Each officer nominated under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph who stands directed to act as registrar to the High Court under that subparagraph shall (in addition to any other duties which may be assigned to him or her by the officer for the time being managing the Central Office) act as registrar to the Central Criminal Court as and when directed to so act by the officer for the time being managing the Central Office.”.

Amendment of section 27 of Court Officers Act 1926.

43. Section 27 of the Court Officers Act 1926 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (1) and (2):

“(1) In the event of the temporary absence or the temporary incapacity through illness of any Taxing-Master or in the event of the office of any Taxing-Master being vacant the Courts Service may appoint a deputy to execute the office of such Taxing-Master during such absence, incapacity or vacancy.

(1A) In any of the following cases, namely—

(a) the temporary absence or the temporary incapacity through illness of the Master of the High Court,

(b) the office of the Master of the High Court being vacant, or

(c) any other case in which the Courts Service considers it desirable that the following power be exercised,

the Courts Service may appoint one or more than one deputy to execute the office of the Master of the High Court or, as the case may be, to execute such office concurrently with the Master of the High Court.

(2) A deputy appointed under this section shall while his appointment continues have and exercise all the powers and authorities and shall perform and fulfil all the duties and functions of the officer whose deputy he is—

(a) in a case falling within subsection (1) or subsection (1A)(a) or (b) of this section, in place of their being exercised, performed and fulfilled by that officer, and

(b) in a case falling within paragraph (c) of subsection (1A), concurrently with their being exercised, performed and fulfilled by that officer.”.

Amendment of section 38 of Court Officers Act 1926.

44. Section 38 of the Court Officers Act 1926 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (3):

“(3) The county registrar of the county, county borough or other area (other than the county or county borough of Dublin) in which the Central Criminal Court is, for the time being, sitting shall perform the following functions, that is to say:

(a) the function of acting as registrar to that court, and

(b) the function of performing such powers and carrying out of such duties in relation to that court as are assigned to the registrar of the Central Criminal Court by rules of court,

when requested to so do by the officer for the time being managing the Central Office of the High Court.

(4) The functions performable by a county registrar pursuant to a request under subsection (3) shall be performed by a member of the staff of the Circuit Court Office in the county concerned to whom those functions have been delegated by that county registrar.”.

Amendment of Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961.

45. —(1) Section 2 of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended by the insertion, in subsection (1), of the following definition:

“ ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

(2) The Third Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended, in column (3), by the substitution of—

(a) “market value” for “rateable valuation” in each place that it occurs, and

(b) “€3,000,000” for “£200” (inserted by section 2(1)(d) of the Act of 1981) in each place that it occurs.

Amendment of Registration of Title Act 1964.

46. Section 18 of the Registration of Title Act 1964 is amended by—

(a) the substitution, in subsection (2) (amended by section 3 of the Act of 1991), of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

and

(b) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(4) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of Succession Act 1965.

47. Section 6 of the Succession Act 1965 is amended by—

(a) the substitution, in subsection (3) (inserted by section 4 of the Act of 1981), of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

and

(b) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(5) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of Act of 1976.

48. —Section 10 of the Act of 1976 is amended by—

(a) the substitution, in subsection (4) (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1981), of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

and

(b) (i) the repeal of paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (5), and

(ii) the deletion, in paragraph (b) of subsection (5), of the words “or where such chattels are or immediately before such disposal or removal, were in a family home the rateable valuation of which does not exceed £20”,

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(8) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of section 1 of Courts (No. 3) Act 1986.

49. The Courts (No. 3) Act 1986 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 1:

“1.—(1) Proceedings in the District Court in respect of an offence may be commenced by the issuing, as a matter of administrative procedure, of a document (in this section referred to as a ‘summons’) to the prosecutor by the appropriate office.

(2) The issue of a summons may, in addition to being effected by any method by which the issue of a summons could be effected immediately before the enactment of section 49 of the Act of 2004, be effected by transmitting it by electronic means to the person who applied for it or a person acting on his or her behalf.

(3) An application for the issue of a summons may be made to the appropriate office by or on behalf of the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, a member of the Garda Síochána or any person authorised by or under an enactment to bring and prosecute proceedings for the offence concerned.

(4) The making of an application referred to in subsection (3) of this section may, in addition to being effected by any method by which the making of an application for a summons could be effected immediately before the enactment of section 49 of the Act of 2004, be effected by transmitting it to the appropriate office by electronic means.

(5) Where an application for the issue of a summons is made to—

(a) an office referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘appropriate office’ in this section, the summons may, instead of its being issued by that office, be issued by an office referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition, or

(b) an office referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition, the summons may, instead of its being issued by that office, be issued by an office referred to in paragraph (a) of that definition.

(6) A summons shall—

(a) specify the name of the person who applied for the issue of the summons,

(b) specify the application date as respects the summons,

(c) state shortly and in ordinary language particulars of the alleged offence, the name of the person alleged to have committed the offence and the address (if known) at which he or she ordinarily resides,

(d) notify that person that he or she will be accused of that offence at a sitting of the District Court specified by reference to its date and location and, insofar as is practicable, its time, and

(e) specify the name of an appropriate District Court clerk.

(7) For the avoidance of doubt, particulars of the penalty to which a person guilty of the offence concerned would be liable are not required to be stated in a summons.

(8) Where the issue of a summons is effected in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, references to an original summons in any enactment relating to the service of summonses (whether the references employ the word ‘summons’ or the expression ‘original document’) shall be construed as references to a true copy of the summons.

(9) In any proceedings—

(a) a document purporting to be a summons shall be deemed to be a summons duly applied for and issued, and

(b) the date specified in the summons as being the application date shall be deemed to be such date,

unless the contrary is shown.

(10) In any proceedings in which the issue of a summons was effected in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a true copy of the summons shall, unless the contrary is shown, be evidence of the summons concerned.

(11) A summons duly issued under this Act shall be deemed for all purposes to be a summons duly issued pursuant to the law in force immediately before the passing of this Act.

(12) Any provision made by or under any enactment passed before the passing of this Act relating to the time for making a complaint in relation to an offence shall apply, with any necessary modifications, in relation to an application under subsection (3) of this section.

(13) The procedures provided for in this section in relation to applications for, and the issue of, summonses are without prejudice to any other procedures in force immediately before the passing of this Act whereby proceedings in respect of an offence can be commenced and, accordingly, any of those other procedures may be adopted, where appropriate, as if this Act had not been passed.

(14) In this section—

‘Act of 2004’ means the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004;

‘application date’ means, in relation to a summons, the date on which the application for the issue of the summons was received by the appropriate office;

‘appropriate District Court clerk’ means, in relation to a summons, a District Court clerk assigned to any district court area in the district court district in which a judge of the District Court has jurisdiction in relation to the offence to which the summons relates;

‘appropriate office’ means, in relation to a summons—

(a) the office of any District Court clerk assigned to any district court area in the district court district in which a judge of the District Court has jurisdiction in relation to the offence to which the summons relates, or

(b) any office of the Courts Service designated by the Courts Service for the purpose of receiving applications referred to in subsection (3) of this section;

‘prosecutor’ includes a person acting on behalf of the prosecutor;

‘summons’ has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1);

‘true copy’ means, in relation to a summons the issue of which was effected in accordance with subsection (2), a document that purports to be a reproduction in writing of the summons certified by the prosecutor as being a true copy thereof.”.

Amendment of Act of 1989.

50. —Section 31 of the Act of 1989 is amended by—

(a) the substitution, in subsection (3), of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

and

(b) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(6) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of Act of 1995.

51. —Section 38 of the Act of 1995 is amended by—

(a) the substitution, in subsection (3), of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

(b) the repeal of subsection (5), and

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(9) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of Act of 1996.

52. —Section 38 of the Act of 1996 is amended by—

(a) the substitution in subsection (2) of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation”, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200”,

(b) the repeal of subsection (4), and

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(8) In this section ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

Amendment of Planning and Development Act 2000.

53. —(1) Section 90 of the Act of 2000 is amended, in subsection (5), by—

(a) the substitution of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation” in each place that it occurs, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200” in each place that it occurs,

and

(b) the insertion of the following paragraph:

“(d) In this subsection ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

(2) Section 160 of the Act of 2000 is amended, in subsection (5), by—

(a) the substitution of—

(i) “market value” for “rateable valuation” in each place that it occurs, and

(ii) “€3,000,000” for “£200” in each place that it occurs,

and

(b) the insertion of the following paragraph:

“(e) In this subsection ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.”.

(3) In this section “Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000 .

Exclusion of certain witnesses, etc.

54. —(1) The court in a personal injuries action may, upon the application of a party to the action, direct that a person (other than another party to the action or an expert witness) who it is intended will be called to give evidence at the trial of the action shall not attend that trial until he or she is called to give evidence.

(2) Where a court gives a direction under subsection (1), it may give all such other directions as it considers necessary or expedient to secure that a witness to whom the first-mentioned direction applies does not—

(a) communicate with other witnesses who it is intended will be called to give evidence at the trial of the action concerned, or

(b) receive information such as might influence him or her when giving evidence.

(3) In this section “expert witness” means, in relation to a personal injuries action, a person who it is intended will be called as a witness to give expert evidence at the trial of that action.

Amendment of Act of 2002.

55. —Section 46 of the Act of 2002 is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (3), (4) and (5):

“(3) Subject to subsection (6), if judgment in the proceedings concerned is not delivered before the expiration of 2 months from the date on which it is reserved, the President of the Court shall, as soon as may be after—

(a) the said expiration, and

(b) the expiration of each subsequent period of 2 months (if judgment is not delivered first),

list the proceedings or cause them to be listed before the judge who reserved judgment therein and shall give notice in writing to the parties to the proceedings of each date on which the proceedings are listed in accordance with this section.

(3A) If, apart from this subsection, subsection (3) would operate to require the President of the Court to do anything referred to in that subsection during a period when the court is in vacation, then that subsection shall be construed as requiring that President to do that thing as soon as may be after the expiration of that period.

(4) Where proceedings are listed before a judge in accordance with subsection (3), the judge shall specify the date on which he or she proposes to deliver judgment in the proceedings.

(5) The date specified by a judge under subsection (4) shall, in relation to the proceedings concerned, be entered in the register and where the proceedings concerned have been listed more than once in accordance with subsection (1), there shall be entered in the register on each occasion on which they are so listed the date, for the time being, standing so specified.”,

(b) the deletion of paragraph (b) of subsection (9),

(c) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (10):

“(10) In this section references to a judge shall, in the case of a court constituted of more than one judge, be construed as references to the judge who, among the judges of which the court was constituted, ranks first in order of precedence in accordance with section 9 (inserted by section 9 of the Courts (No. 2) Act 1997) of the Courts of Justice Act 1924 .”,

(d) the insertion of the following definition in subsection (11):

“ ‘President of the Court’ means—

(a) in relation to the District Court, the President of the District Court,

(b) in relation to the Circuit Court, the President of the Circuit Court,

(c) in relation to the High Court, the President of the High Court,

(d) in relation to the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice;”.

Increase in number of judges of High Court, Circuit Court and District Court.

56. The Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following section for section 9 (inserted by section 2 of the Courts and Court Officers (Amendment) Act 2003 ):

“9.—The number of ordinary judges of the High Court shall not be more than 31.”,

(b) the substitution of the following section for section 10 (inserted by section 26 of the Act of 2002):

“10.—The number of ordinary judges of the Circuit Court shall not be more than 33.”,

and

(c) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) (inserted by section 27(1) of the Act of 2002) of section 11:

“(1) The number of judges of the District Court in addition to the President of the District Court shall not be more than 54.”.