Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008

20.

Amendment of section 67 of Courts of Justice Act 1936.

20.— Section 67 (as amended by section 15 of the Courts of Justice Act 1953) of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 is amended by substituting the following for subsections (2) to (10):

“(2) The Superior Courts Rules Committee (‘the Committee’) shall consist of 6 ex-officio members and 8 nominated members.

(3) The ex-officio members of the Committee shall be—

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

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

(c) the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service,

(d) the Attorney General,

(e) the Registrar of the Supreme Court, and

(f) the Master of the High Court.

(4) The nominated members of the Committee shall be the following:

(a) 2 shall be ordinary judges of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice;

(b) 2 shall be ordinary judges of the High Court nominated by the President of the High Court;

(c) 2 shall be practising barristers nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, of whom one shall be a member of the Senior Bar and the other a member of the Junior Bar; and

(d) 2 shall be practising solicitors nominated by the Council of the Law Society of Ireland.

(5) Every nominated member of the Committee shall hold office as such member until—

(a) the fifth anniversary of the date of his or her nomination, or

(b) he or she—

(i) dies,

(ii) resigns as such member, or

(iii) ceases to be of the capacity referred to in subsection (4) by virtue of which the member held office as such member,

whichever is the earlier.

(6) A nominated member of the Committee whose membership thereof expires pursuant to subsection (5)(a) shall be eligible for re-nomination.

(7) The quorum of the Committee shall be 6 members.

(8) The Committee may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies in its membership.

(9) Each of the ex-officio members of the Committee specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (3) may appoint in writing a person to act in his or her place as a member of the Committee except that the person so appointed shall be—

(a) in the case of the Chief Justice, an ordinary judge of the Supreme Court,

(b) in the case of the President of the High Court, an ordinary judge of the High Court,

(c) in the case of the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, a member of the staff of the Courts Service,

(d) in the case of the Attorney General, an officer of the Attorney General.

(10) The Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, in consultation with the chairperson of the Committee, shall appoint in writing a member of the staff of the Courts Service to be the secretary to the Committee.

(11) A person who made an appointment under subsection (9) or (10) may revoke the appointment at any time.”.