No. 1/1926:

COURTS OF JUSTICE ACT, 1926

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 The Principal Act.

2 Repeal of references to High Court Circuit.

3 Assignment of High Court Judge to Central Criminal Court.

4 Jurisdiction of Central Criminal Court.

5 Times and sittings of Central Criminal Court.

6 Sending forward of accused persons for trial.

7 Trial of persons now awaiting trial.

8 Cases which may be disposed of by the Central Criminal Court.

9 Short title, construction and citation.

AN ACT TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISION FOR THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT AND TO EXTEND THE JURISDICTION THEREOF AND TO TRANSFER TO THAT COURT THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OF THE HIGH COURT CIRCUIT AND TO MAKE BETTER PROVISION FOR THE TRIAL OF ACCUSED PERSONS INCLUDING ACCUSED PERSONS NOW AWAITING TRIAL.

[15th January, 1926]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:-

1.—In this Act the expression "the Principal Act" means the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924).

2.—The definitions contained in section 3 of the Principal Act of the Commissioners of the High Court Circuit and the Court of the High Court Circuit and also all references contained in the Principal Act to those Commissioners or that Court are hereby repealed.

3.—(1) The power of assigning to a judge of the High Court the duty of acting as the Central Criminal Court for the time being shall be vested in the President of the High Court alone.

(2) It shall be lawful for the President of the High Court in the exercise of the said power to assign the said duty to himself.

4.—The Central Criminal Court shall have and may exercise every jurisdiction in criminal matters for the time being vested in the High Court, and every person lawfully brought before the Central Criminal Court for trial in exercise of any such jurisdiction may be indicted before and tried and sentenced by that Court wherever it may be sitting in like manner in all respects as if the crime with which such person is charged had been committed in the county or county borough in which the said Court is sitting.

5. —(1) Clause (iv.) of section 36 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that the Sittings of the Central Criminal Court shall be held (with and subject to a general power of adjournment) at such times and in such places as the President of the High Court shall from time to time direct.

(2) Every application to the Central Criminal Court in relation to a matter pending or formerly pending in that Court may, if and when that Court is not sitting, be made to and heard and disposed of by any Judge of the High Court.

6.—The second proviso to paragraph B of section 77 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted that in all criminal cases not disposed of summarily by a Justice of the District Court, the Justice shall, if all the offences in respect of which the accused person is being sent forward are within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, send the accused person forward for trial to the Circuit Judge or one of the Circuit Judges (to be selected by the Justice) who under section 53 of the Principal Act has jurisdiction to try the case and in every other case shall send the accused person forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court.

7.—(1) Every person who, having been sent forward for trial either-

( a ) on a charge which is not within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court or on a number of charges any one or more or all of which is or are not within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, or

( b ) to a Court of the High Court Circuit by a Circuit Judge in exercise of the power in that behalf conferred on him by section 54 of the Principal Act,

is at the passing of this Act awaiting trial accordingly shall be deemed to have been sent forward for trial to the sitting of the Central Criminal Court next ensuing after the passing of this Act and shall be tried accordingly.

(2) The recognizances by way of bail (if any such there be) given by or in respect of a person to whom the foregoing sub-section applies shall have effect as if references to the Central Criminal Court were inserted therein in lieu of the references contained therein to the court or courts actually mentioned or described therein.

8.—The cases which may be disposed of by the Central Criminal Court at any particular sitting of the Court shall include all cases in which the accused person is, at the beginning of or at any time during that sitting, in custody in the county or county borough in which the sitting is being held and is awaiting trial by the Circuit Court.

9.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Courts of Justice Act, 1926 .

(2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Principal Act, and the Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Courts of Justice Acts, 1924 and 1926.