This appears on the Order Paper in accordance with the agreement made yesterday.
DAIL IN COMMITTEE. - COUNTY COURTS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 1923.—THIRD STAGE.
I move Section 1 of this Bill, which provides that the Courts may be held otherwise than in the places defined by Statute. Sub-section 1 provides a kind of indemnity for any cases in which the Courts have already been held otherwise than in the statutory place. I think the Section needs very little exposition to the Dáil. In some places courthouses have been burned down or damaged, and it has not been possible for the County Court Judge to hold a court in that place. It is necessary to allow a change of place for the Courts, and this Bill is brought in to deal with that situation.
Motion agreed to.
Mr. O'HIGGINS
I move Section 2 of the Bill, which deals with the service of documents and provides that documents may be deemed to have been validly served if the judge is satisfied —(a) that it was not reasonably possible to effect service of such document in the manner required by the law, and (b) that such document, or a copy thereof, or reasonable notice of such document and of the contents thereof did in fact reach the person required to be served therewith.
Motion agreed to.
SECTION 3.
In this Act the expression "County Court Judge" includes a Recorder and a Judge of a Borough, and the word "Minister" means the Minister for Home Affairs.
I move the following as an amendment: To insert before Section 3 a new Section as follows:—
"(1) If and whenever there shall not be in existence for either the current year or the next preceding year, such general juror's book or special juror's book respectively, as is mentioned in Section 17 of the Juries (Ireland) Act, 1871, it shall be lawful to return jurors from the general juror's book or the special juror's book (as the case may be) for the latest year for which such book is in existence, and also, if it shall appear to the Under Sheriff or other official liable to make the return of jurors that owing to deaths, removals or otherwise, it is not possible to form a sufficient panel from such book, it shall be lawful to return as jurors the names of such, and so many other persons who appear to the Under Sheriff or other officer aforesaid to be liable to serve as jurors as shall be necessary to form a sufficient panel.
"(2) Every person who shall be returned as a juror under the foregoing Sub-section shall be under the same liability to serve as a juror as if a general juror's book or a special juror's book (as the case may be) for the current year had been in existence, and the name of such person had appeared therein, unless such person shall satisfy the judge of the Court to which he is summoned as a juror that, if such book had been in existence, his name could not lawfully have been inserted therein.
"(3) If any person whose name is not contained in such general juror's book or special juror's book (as the case may be) for the latest year for which such book is in existence, and whose name could not be lawfully inserted in the general juror's book (as the case may be) for the current year, shall be returned and sworn as a juror upon any trial without objection, such trial shall not be interrupted or deemed a mistrial, nor shall the verdict thereon be impeached or questioned on account of the return of such person as a juror."
This rather lengthy amendment is capable of a very simple explanation. Under the existing law the Sheriff has power to empanel a jury from the juror's book of the previous year. In possibly two or three counties there has been no juror's book compiled for possibly two or three years, and the object of the amendment is to enable the Sheriff to empanel a jury from the last jurors' book compiled.
Paragraph 3 also requires a little explanation. It follows that if the Sheriff is operating on a Juror's Book three or four years old that it might possibly happen, owing to deaths and removals, that he would not have a sufficient number of names to operate upon. It is, therefore, provided that a man who would be eligible to act as a juror if empanelled without objection may so act.
New Section agreed to.
Sections 4 and 5 (Sections 3 and 4 in draft) put and agreed to.
THE TITLE.
An Act to remove certain difficulties in relation to the holding of Quarter Sessions and Civil Bill Courts and the service of certain documents relating thereto.
The new Section involves an amendment of the Title.
I move as an amendment:—
To delete the words "service of certain documents relating thereto," lines 11 and 12, and insert in lieu thereof the words:—
"return of jurors and the service of documents in relation to such Courts."
It is consequential on the amendment already passed.
Amendment put and agreed to.
Motion made and question put:
"That the title, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
Agreed.