PART III.

The Supreme Court and High Court.

11. —Section 4 of the Act of 1924 (by which the High Court is constituted) is hereby amended by the substitution of “seven judges” for “six judges” and “six ordinary judges” for “five ordinary judges.”

12. —(1) Notwitstanding anything contained in section 34 of the Act of 1936, if, at any time before a judge begins to travel a High Court Circuit for the purpose of holding therein any half-yearly sittings of the High Court on Circuit, the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court ascertain that there is no business to be transacted at such sittings in any particular appeal town for a county or county borough in that High Court Circuit, the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court may direct in writing that it shall not be obligatory to hold such sittings in that appeal town.

(2) Where—

(i) two or more judges are travelling a High Court Circuit for the purpose of holding therein any half-yearly sittings of the High Court on Circuit, and

(ii) the senior of the judges ascertains that there is no business to be transacted at such sittings in any particular appeal town for a county or county borough in that High Court Circuit,

the senior of the judges may direct in writing that it shall not be obligatory to hold such sittings in that appeal town.

(3) Where—

(i) one judge only is travelling a High Court Circuit for the purpose of holding therein any half-yearly sittings of the High Court on Circuit, and

(ii) the judge ascertains that there is no business to be transacted at such sittings in any particular appeal town for a county or county borough in that High Court Circuit, the judge may direct in writing that it shall not be obligatory to hold such sittings in that appeal town.

(4) A direction under this section may be filed in the Circuit Court Office serving the appeal town to which the direction relates.

13. —The power to remit or transfer an action conferred by section 25 of the Act of 1924 may, with the consent of the parties to the action, be exercised by the Master of the High Court, and any action remitted or transferred by him shall be regarded as having been remitted or transferred under that section by the High Court.

14. —Section 12 of the Act of 1936 (which limits the amount of the plaintiff's costs in certain High Court actions) is hereby amended by the substitution of “fifty pounds” for “twenty-five pounds”, “two hundred pounds” for “one hundred pounds” and “six hundred pounds” for “three hundred pounds”.

15. —(1) The Superior Courts Rules Committee established by section 67 of the Act of 1936 shall hereafter consist of three ex-officio members and eight nominated members.

(2) The ex-officio members shall be—

(a) the Chief Justice, who shall be chairman of the Committee,

(b) the President of the High Court, who shall be vice-chairman of the Committee, and

(c) the Master of the High Court.

(3) Two of the nominated members shall be practising barristers nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, of whom one shall be of the Senior Bar and the other of the Junior Bar, and two shall be practising solicitors nominated by the Council of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

(4) Every nominated member of the Committee shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns, or ceases to be (as the case may be) an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court, an ordinary judge of the High Court, a practising barrister, or (in the case of the member of the Junior Bar) a member of the Junior Bar, or a practising solicitor, hold office as such member for five years from the date of his nomination.

(5) To avoid doubts, it is hereby declared that the Committee has and shall be deemed always to have had the power to make rules for the trial of election petitions under any statute for the time being in force, including power to modify or adapt any such statute for the purpose of such rules.