1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002.

(2) Sections 13 to 21 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular provision and different days may be so appointed for different provisions, but those sections or any provision of them shall not apply in relation to proceedings in any court instituted before the day so appointed in respect of the section concerned or the provision concerned.

(3) Sections 22, 29 and 46 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular provision and different days may be so appointed for different provisions.

(4) Section 31 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January, 2002.

(5) Section 39 to 43 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 9th day of November, 1999.

(6) The provisions of this Act, insofar as they amend the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 to 2000, shall be construed as one with those Acts, and those provisions, the Courts (No. 2) Act 1991, and those Acts may be cited together as the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts 1961 to 2002.

(7) The provisions of this Act, insofar as they amend the Court Officers Acts 1926 to 1999, shall be construed as one with those Acts, and those provisions and those Acts may be cited together as the Court Officers Acts 1926 to 2002.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“Act of 1936” means Courts of Justice Act 1936;

“Act of 1961” means Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961;

“Act of 1981” means Courts Act 1981;

“Act of 1991” means Courts Act 1991;

“Act of 1995” means Courts and Court Officers Act 1995;

“Act of 1998” means Courts Service Act 1998.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section or Schedule is a reference to a section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection is a reference to a subsection of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended, and

(c) a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).

3.—The enactments specified in column (2) of Schedule 1 are repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

4.—Section 5 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection, a person shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court if the person is for the time being a practising barrister or a practising solicitor of not less than 12 years' standing who has practised as a barrister or a solicitor for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately before such appointment.

(b) A person who—

(i) is or was at any time during the period of 2 years immediately before the appointment concerned—

(I) a judge of the Court of Justice of the European Communities,

(II) a judge of the Court of First Instance attached to that Court,

(III) an Advocate-General of the Court of Justice of the European Communities,

(IV) a judge of the European Court of Human Rights established under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done at Rome on the 4th day of November, 1950,

(V) a judge of the International Court of Justice established under the Charter of the United Nations,

(VI) a judge of the International Criminal Court established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court done at Rome on the 17th day of July, 1998, upon the entry into force of that Statute,

(VII) a judge of an international tribunal within the meaning of section 2 of the International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998,

and

(ii) was a practising barrister or a practising solicitor before appointment to any of the offices referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph,

shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.

(c) A judge of the Circuit Court who has served as such a judge for a period of not less than 2 years shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.”.

5.—Section 17 of the Act of 1961 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (2):

“(2) A person who is for the time being a practising barrister or a practising solicitor of not less than 10 years' standing shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.

(2A) A judge of the District Court shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.

(2B) A county registrar who practised as a barrister or a solicitor for not less than 10 years before he or she was appointed to be a county registrar shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court.”.

6.—Where a person has practised as a barrister and as a solicitor, periods of practice as a barrister and periods of practice as a solicitor may be reckoned to satisfy the minimum period of practice as a barrister, or as a solicitor, required by—

(a) subsection (2)(a) of section 5 (as amended by section 4) of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court F1[, the Court of Appeal] or the High Court,

(b) subsection (2) or (2B) of section 17 (as amended by section 5) of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the Circuit Court,

(c) section 14(1) (as amended by section 29 of the Act of 1995) of the Act of 1936 in the case of an appointment to act temporarily as a judge of the Circuit Court,

(d) subsection (2) or (3) of section 29 of the Act of 1961 in the case of an appointment as a judge of the District Court, or

(e) section 51(1) (as amended by section 48(8) of the Act of 1961) of the Act of 1936 in the case of an appointment to act temporarily as a judge of the District Court.

7.—Section 14 of the Law Reform Commission Act 1975, is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (2A) of this section, when a person who is a barrister or a solicitor is appointed” for “When a person who is a barrister is appointed”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “shall be deemed to be practice as a barrister or a solicitor, as may be appropriate” for “shall be deemed to be practice at the Bar”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Service as a Commissioner in a whole-time capacity or a whole-time officer of the Commission shall not be deemed to be practice as a barrister or a solicitor to satisfy the requirement in subsection (2)(a) of section 5 (as amended by section 4 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002) of the Act of 1961 of a continuous period of not less than 2 years practice by a person as a barrister or a solicitor immediately before the appointment of the person as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court.”.

8.—Section 16 of the Act of 1995 is amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (7):

“(7) (a) When submitting the name of a person to the Minister under this section, the Board shall indicate whether the person satisfies the requirements of subsection (2) of section 5 (as amended by section 4 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002) of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the office of ordinary judge of the Supreme Court or of ordinary judge of the High Court), subsection (2) or (2B) of section 17 (as amended by section 5 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002) of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the office of ordinary judge of the Circuit Court) or subsection (2) or (3) of section 29 of the Act of 1961 (in the case of an appointment to the office of judge of the District Court) in respect of appointment to the judicial office for which the person wishes to be considered, and the Board shall not recommend a person to the Minister under this section unless the person satisfies those requirements.

(b)  (i) The Board shall recommend a person to the Minister under this section only if the Board is of the opinion that the person—

(I) has displayed in his or her practice as a barrister or a solicitor a degree of competence and a degree of probity appropriate to and consistent with the appointment concerned,

(II) in the case of an appointment to the office of ordinary judge of the Supreme Court or of ordinary judge of the High Court, has an appropriate knowledge of the decisions, and an appropriate knowledge and appropriate experience of the practice and procedure, of the Supreme Court and the High Court,

(III) is suitable on the grounds of character and temperament,

(IV) complies with the requirements of section 19 of this Act, and

(V) is otherwise suitable.

(ii) In determining whether the requirements of subparagraph (i)(II) of this paragraph are satisfied, the Board shall have regard, in particular, to the nature and extent of the practice of the person concerned insofar as it relates to his or her personal conduct of proceedings in the Supreme Court and the High Court whether as an advocate or as a solicitor instructing counsel in such proceedings or both.”.

9.—Section 17 of the Act of 1995 is amended by the substitution of “subsection (2)(b) of section 5 (as amended by section 4 of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002) of the Act of 1961” for “the provisions of paragraphs (c) and (d) of section 5(2) (as inserted by section 28 of this Act) of the Act of 1961”.

10.—The Act of 1995 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 17:

“17A.—A person who for the time being holds the office of—

(a) judge of the Court of Justice,

(b) judge of the Court of First Instance attached to that Court,

(c) Advocate-General of the Court of Justice,

(d) judge of the European Court of Human Rights established under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done at Rome on the 4th day of November, 1950,

(e) judge of the International Court of Justice established under the Charter of the United Nations,

(f) judge of the International Criminal Court established under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court done at Rome on the 17th day of July, 1998, upon the entry into force of that Statute,

(g) judge of an international tribunal within the meaning of section 2 of the International War Crimes Tribunals Act 1998,

shall vacate the office concerned before the President appoints the person to a judicial office.”.

11.—The Act of 1995 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 20:

“20A.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Board shall, as soon as may be, but not later than 6 months, after the end of each year, make a report in writing to the Minister of its activities during that year, and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(2) The first report under subsection (1) of this section shall be in respect of the period from the passing of the Courts and Court Officers Act 2002, to the end of the year in which that Act is passed.

(3) The Minister may, after consultation with the Board, give directions to it regarding the form of a report under this section and the manner in which any matter is to be addressed in such a report.

(4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the Board shall include in a report under this section such information relating to the performance of its functions as the Minister may from time to time specify and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, it may include information on one or more of the following:

(a) the number of persons considered by the Board for appointment to each vacancy in a judicial office in the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court respectively in the period concerned,

(b) the gender, professional qualifications and experience of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection in relation to each such vacancy,

(c) the gender, professional qualifications and experience of persons appointed to a judicial office in the period concerned,

(d) the procedures of the Board for examining applications for appointment to a judicial office,

(e) the criteria used by the Board to select the persons it recommended to the Minister under section 16 of this Act.

(5) A report under this section shall not include information that discloses, or is likely to disclose, the identity of any person who was considered by the Board in relation to an appointment to a judicial office and was not appointed to such an office.”.

12.—The Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961, is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 6:

“6A.—(1) Where a judicial office within the meaning of section 6 of this Act is vacated by a person in accordance with subsection (3) of that section, the person shall complete the hearing of any case or cases that have been partly heard by the person in the Court in which the judicial office is vacated if, at the request of the President of that Court—

(a) in case the person is appointed to the office of Chief Justice, President of the High Court or President of the Circuit Court, he or she considers it appropriate to do so, or

(b) in case the person is appointed to the office of ordinary judge of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice requests the person to do so, or in case the person is appointed to the office of ordinary judge of the High Court or of the Circuit Court, the President of the High Court or the President of the Circuit Court, as may be appropriate, requests the person to do so.

(2) Whenever a judge sits in a Court in pursuance of this section, he or she shall be an additional judge of the Court concerned for all the purposes of that Court.”.

13.—F2[…]

14.—F3[…]

15.—F4[…]

16.—F5[…]

17.—F6[…]

18.—F7[…]

19.—Section 21A (inserted by section 21 of the Status of Children Act 1987) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, is amended in subsection (1) by the substitution of “€4,000” for “£1,500” and of “€2,000” for “£750” in each place where it occurs.

20.—Section 23 (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 1981) of the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, is amended in subsection (2)(a) by—

(a) the substitution of “€500” for “£200” (inserted by section 11 of the Act of 1991), and

(b) the substitution of “€150” for “£60” (inserted by the said section 11).

21.—Section 5 (inserted by section 15(1)(a) of the Act of 1981) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, is amended in subsection (2) by the substitution of “€150” for “£60” (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 1991).

22.—The Second Schedule to the Act of 1995 is amended—

(a) in paragraph 1—

(i) by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraph (v):

“(v) A conditional order for the appointment of a receiver by way of equitable execution and, if that appointment is consented to or is uncontested, an order for the appointment of the receiver, and an order for the discharge of a receiver.

(va) A conditional order of garnishee and, if the order is consented to or is uncontested, an order of garnishee.”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ix):

“(ix) An order on an application for directions as to—

(I) service of a civil bill or other originating document not inter partes, or

(II) any other procedure in an action or matter.”,

(iii) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (xxiv):

“(xxiv) An order to vacate a lis pendens on the application of—

(I) the person on whose application it was registered, or

(II) any person affected by it, on notice to the person on whose application it was registered, where the action to which it relates has been discontinued or determined or a document or pleading has not, for a period of not less than a year before the application to vacate it, been filed in that action by or on behalf of the person on whose application it was registered.”,

(iv) by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (xxvii), (xxviii) and (xxix):

“(xxvii) An order giving liberty to issue an execution order to replace an execution order that is lost or mislaid.

(xxviia) An order giving liberty to issue an execution order at any time during the period of 12 years from the date of the judgment or order of the Court whose execution is directed or authorised by the execution order.

(xxviib) An order giving liberty to amend the identity of the parties to an execution order in accordance with any amendment made by the Court to the identity of the parties to the judgment or order of the Court whose execution is directed or authorised by the execution order following the death of any party entitled or liable to execution under that order or the assignment of the debt due under that order.

(xxviii) An order for the transfer of proceedings to the High Court or the District Court, including all ancillary orders for the transfer of moneys lodged in the Circuit Court.

(xxix) An order giving liberty to—

(I) serve a third party notice to proceedings on notice to the plaintiff in the proceedings,

(II) join a party as a co-defendant to proceedings on notice to the plaintiff in the proceedings, or

(III) join a party as a co-plaintiff to proceedings on notice to the defendant in the proceedings.”,

and

(v) by the addition of the following subparagraphs:

“(xxx) An order for the recovery of—

(I) a liquidated amount, or

(II) a specific chattel or chattels,

or both in any proceedings in which an appearance has not been entered or a defence has not been delivered.

(xxxi) An order entering judgment in an action for unliquidated damages, together with interest thereon and the costs, charges and expenses of the action, in which an appearance has not been entered or a defence has not been delivered.

(xxxii) An order for the recovery of possession of any land in ejectment proceedings in which an appearance has not been entered or a defence has not been delivered.

(xxxiii) An order for possession of any land within the meaning of section 3 of the Registration of Title Act 1964, in proceedings for an application under section 62(7) of that Act in which an appearance has not been entered or a defence has not been delivered.

(xxxiv) An order for the recovery of possession of any land on foot of a legal mortgage or charge in proceedings in which no other relief is claimed and an appearance has not been entered or a defence has not been delivered.

(xxxv) An order that—

(I) A debtor liable under a judgment or order of the Court to pay an amount of money or, where the debtor is a body corporate, an officer, employee or member of the body corporate, and

(II) any other person who a County Registrar considers appropriate,

may be examined orally by the County Registrar to ascertain what (if any) debts are owing to the debtor and what (if any) property or other means the debtor has to satisfy the judgment or order.”,

(b) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 1:

“1A. In paragraph 1 of this Schedule “execution order” has the meaning it would have if the words “issued by a court” were deleted from the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1926.”,

(c) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 4:

“4. In any case in which a County Registrar may make an order, he or she may—

(a) make any supplementary or ancillary order,

(b) place a stay, subject to such conditions as he or she thinks just, on any order made, or

(c) give any necessary directions.”,

and

(d) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph 9:

“9A. A County Registrar may, at the request of a party to proceedings, enter judgment in the proceedings for the amount that is agreed by the parties thereto and remains unpaid in respect of the costs, charges and expenses of the proceedings.”.

23.—Section 9 of the Court Officers Act 1945, is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) (inserted by section 35 of the Act of 1995), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Courts Service may, whenever it considers it appropriate, require and authorise a County Registrar to perform—

(i) the duties (in addition to his or her own duties) of any other County Registrar during a specified period or until otherwise directed by the Courts Service, or

(ii) any duty or duties (in addition to his or her own duties) of any other County Registrar in a particular case or in particular circumstances.”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Whenever an officer is required under this section to perform the duties, or any duty or duties, of another office, he or she shall, while the requirement remains in force, have all the powers of the holder of that office in respect of the duty or duties concerned as fully as if he or she held that office.”.

24.—Section 79 (as amended by section 41 of the Act of 1995) of the Courts of Justice Act 1924, is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by the insertion of “or no judge stands assigned to a District Court District,” after “a judge for the time being assigned to a District Court District is unavailable,”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) A judge of the District Court who exercises jurisdiction in a District Court District under subsection (2) of this section may hold a sitting of the District Court in the District Court District at a place or time not standing appointed for the time being for the hearing of cases of summary jurisdiction.”.

25.—Section 7(6) of the Courts Act 1964, is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a)(iii), by the deletion of “shall be endorsed upon the original document and”,

(b) in paragraph (a)(iv), by the insertion of “, not more than 3 days after service of the document,” after “the time, date and place of posting of the envelope shall”, and

(c) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “the statutory declaration specified in subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be lodged therewith and the endorsement specified in subparagraph (iv) of the said paragraph (a) shall be effected on the document before lodgment at that office” for “the endorsement specified in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be effected thereon before lodgment at that office”.

26.—The Act of 1995 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 10 (inserted by section 1 of the Courts Act 1996):

“10.—The number of ordinary judges of the Circuit Court shall not be more than 30.”.

27.—(1) The Act of 1995 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1) 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 52.”.

(2) The Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1961 is amended in paragraph 2(1) by the substitution of the following clause for clause (b) (inserted by section 20 of the Act of 1991 and amended by section 11(2) of the Act of 1995):

“(b) Where, at the time of the appointment of a person to be a judge of the District Court, there are 14 judges of the District Court not permanently assigned to particular districts, the Government shall assign that person permanently to a particular district.”.

28.—The Act of 1995 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 9 (inserted by the Courts (No. 2) Act 1997):

“9.—The number of ordinary judges of the High Court shall not be more than 26.”.

29.—Where a judge of the High Court who was appointed on 20 December 1990 vacated his office on 30 November 2001, he shall be deemed for the purposes of Part I of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1961 to have vacated his office after 15 years of service.

30.—F8[(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) Subsection (1) also applies, where appropriate, to part only of the amount referred to in that subsection, and that subsection shall have effect accordingly.

(3) F9[…]

(4) F9[…]

31.—Section 7(8)(c) of the Courts of Justice and Court Officers (Superannuation) Act 1961, is amended by the substitution of “an exact number of euro” for “an exact number of pounds”.

32.—Section 4(2) of the Charities Act 1973, is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(dd) to apply the property of the charity cy-près if any of the circumstances specified in subsection (1) of section 47 of the Charities Act 1961, exist in relation to the charity,”.

33.—The Bail Act 1997, is amended—

(a) in section 5—

(i) in subsection (1), by the insertion of “, the court may, having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the means of the person and the nature of the offence in relation to which the person is in custody, order that” after “admits a person who is in custody to bail”, and

(ii) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “the amount (if any) of any recognisance paid into court” for “the amount of any recognisance paid into court”,

(b) in section 8(2), by the insertion of “, if the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the means of the person and the nature of the offence to which the warrant relates, so orders” after “approved by the member and”, and

(c) in section 9—

(i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “any amount paid into court” for “the amount paid into court”, and

(ii) in subsection (7), by the substitution of “any moneys paid into court” for “the moneys paid into court”.

34.—Section 61(3)(h) of the Bankruptcy Act 1988, is amended by the substitution of “€7,000” for “€1,300”.

35.—F10[…]

36.—F11[…]

37.—Section 9 of the Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments Act 1998, is amended—

(a) in subsection (8)(a), by the substitution of “district court area” for “district court district”, and

(b) in subsection (16), by the substitution of “Dublin Metropolitan District” for “Dublin Metropolitan Area”.

38.—Section 8 of the Act of 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The Service shall, as soon as practicable, but not later than 6 months, after the end of each year make a report in writing to the Minister of its activities during that year, and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.”.

39.—The Act of 1998 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 10:

“10A.—(1)(a) The Board may authorise generally or specially the Chief Executive to authenticate any order or other instrument or both (other than an order or instrument under seal) made under any provision mentioned in column 3 of Schedule 2 of the Acts mentioned in column 2 opposite the mention of that provision in relation to any function of the Service under that provision that is performed by the Board or by a committee of the Board.

(b) The Chief Executive may authorise generally or specially a member of the staff of the Service to authenticate any order or other instrument or both which the Chief Executive is authorised to authenticate under paragraph (a).

(2) The Chief Executive may authorise generally or specially a member of the staff of the Service to authenticate any order or other instrument or both (other than an order or instrument under seal) made under any provision mentioned in column 3 of Schedule 2 of the Acts mentioned in column 2 opposite the mention of that provision in relation to any function of the Service under that provision that is performed by the Chief Executive.

(3) If—

(a) the Board has duly authorised the Chief Executive to authenticate any order or other instrument under subsection (1)(a), or

(b) the Chief Executive has duly authorised a member of the staff of the Service to authenticate any order or other instrument under subsection (1)(b) or (2),

then that order or instrument shall be sufficiently authenticated by the signature of the Chief Executive or of such member of the staff of the Service, as the case may be.

(4) In any proceedings, a document purporting to be an order or other instrument authenticated by the signature of the Chief Executive, or of a member of the staff of the Service, as the case may be, in accordance with subsection (3) shall, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed without proof to be such order or other instrument duly authenticated in accordance with that subsection.”.

40.—Section 13 of the Act of 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The functions of the Board shall be—

(a) to consider and determine policy in relation to the Service,

(b) to oversee the implementation of that policy by the Chief Executive,

(c) to determine—

(i) which of the functions of the Service specified, or referred to, in section 5 and 29(1) are to be performed by it and which of those functions are to be performed by the Chief Executive, and

(ii) which of the powers of the Service specified, or referred to, in section 6 are to be exercised by it and which of those powers are to be exercised by the Chief Executive, and

(d) to perform such functions as it determines are to be performed by it under paragraph (c).”.

41.—The Act of 1998 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 13:

“13A.—(1) The Board may perform any of its functions, other than the function specified in section 13(1)(c), through or by a committee of the Board established under section 15, or through or by the Chief Executive, duly authorised in that behalf by the Board.

(2) Such functions of the Board the performance of which is delegated to the Chief Executive under subsection (1) as may be specified by the Chief Executive from time to time may, with the consent of the Board, be performed by such member of the staff of the Service as may be authorised in that behalf by the Chief Executive.”.

42.—Section 15 of the Act of 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The Board may establish such committees of the Board as it thinks fit to do either or both of the following:

(a) advise it in relation to the performance of its functions,

(b) perform any of its functions to which subsection (1) of section 13A applies.”.

43.—Section 20 of the Act of 1998 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the Chief Executive shall—

(a) manage and control generally the staff, administration and business of the Service, including the functions of County Registrars insofar as such functions relate to a function of the Service,

(b) perform such functions of the Service as the Board determines are to be performed by the Chief Executive under section 13(1)(c), and

(c) perform such other functions as may be conferred on him or her by or under this Act or by the Board.”,

and

(b) in subsection (4), by the deletion of “, with the consent of the Board,”.

44.—The Act of 1998 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 33:

“33.—(1) The Service shall be deemed to be a State authority for the purposes of section 181(1) of the Act of 2000.

(2) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of section 181 of the Act of 2000 or any regulations made under that subsection which provide for the giving of any specified notice with respect to proposed development consisting of the provision of temporary courthouses, it shall be necessary to give such notice of such proposed development once only.

(b) In paragraph (a), ‘courthouses’ means buildings, or other premises or installations, or other structures or facilities, whether provided on a temporary or permanent basis, used for the purposes of or in connection with the transaction of any business relating to a court, tribunal, inquiry or inquest established by statute.

(3) Where development is proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of the Service, the Minister may, if he or she is satisfied that the carrying out of the development is required by reason of an accident or emergency, by order provide that the Act of 2000 or, as may be appropriate, any requirement or requirements of regulations under section 181(1)(b) of the Act of 2000 specified in the order, shall not apply to the development, and for so long as such an order is in force the Act of 2000 or the said requirement or requirements, as the case may be, shall not apply to the development.

(4) The Minister may by order revoke an order made by him or her under subsection (3).

(5) The Minister shall cause an order made by him or her under subsection (3) or (4) to be published in the Iris Oifigiúil and notice of the making of the order to be published in a newspaper circulating in the area of the development concerned.

(6) In this section, ‘Act of 2000’ means Planning and Development Act 2000.”.

45.—(1) The function under subsection (2) of section 44 of the Act of 1936 shall be performed by the Minister to the exclusion of the Courts Service, and that subsection shall have effect accordingly.

(2) The reference to section 44(2) of the Act of 1936 in Schedule 2 to the Act of 1998 is deleted.

46.—(1) The Courts Service shall establish and maintain in the prescribed form and manner a register of every judgment reserved by the Supreme Court, F12[the Court of Appeal,] the High Court, the Circuit Court and the District Court in any civil proceedings to be known as the Register of Reserved Judgments (in this section referred to as “the register”).

(2) Such particulars as may be prescribed in respect of any proceedings in which judgment is reserved shall be entered in the register.

F13[(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.]

(6) Subsection (3) shall not apply if the judge who reserved judgment in the proceedings concerned dies, or if the judge concerned is ill, for the duration of his or her illness or in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.

(7) (a) The register or any part of it shall be kept at a place or places to be prescribed and shall be made available for inspection by any person on payment of such fee (if any) as may be prescribed and at such times as may be prescribed.

(b) A person may, on a request being made by him or her in the prescribed manner and on payment of such fee (if any) as may be prescribed, obtain a copy certified in such manner as may be prescribed of any entry or entries in the register.

(8) The functions of the Courts Service under this section shall be performed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, but such of those functions as may be specified by him or her may be performed by such member or members of the staff of the Courts Service as may be authorised in that behalf by him or her.

(9) (a) The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this section as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(b) F14[…]

F13[(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.]

(11) In this section—

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform by regulations under this section;

F15["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,

F12[(cc) in relation to the Court of Appeal, the President of the Court of Appeal,]

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

“reserved”, in relation to a judgment in court proceedings, means where a decision in the proceedings or the reasons for such decision or both are not announced by the court immediately upon the conclusion of the hearing of the proceedings but instead are postponed—

(a) without a date for such announcement being specified at the time, or

(b) for a period of not less than 14 days after such conclusion.