21.— Section 69 (as amended by section 12 of the Courts of Justice Act 1947) of the Courts of Justice Act 1936 is amended by substituting the following for subsections (2) to (8):

“(2) The Circuit Court Rules Committee (‘the Committee’) shall consist of 4 ex-officio members and 7 nominated members.

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

(a) the President of the Circuit Court, who shall be the chairperson of the Committee,

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

(c) the Attorney General, and

(d) the county registrar for the county and city of Dublin.

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

(a) 2 shall be judges of the Circuit Court nominated by the judges of the Circuit Court;

(b) 2 shall be practising barristers nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland;

(c) 2 shall be practising solicitors nominated by the Council of the Law Society of Ireland, and

(d) one shall be a county registrar, not being the county registrar referred to in subsection (3)(d), nominated by the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service.

(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 a judge of the Circuit Court, a practising barrister, a practising solicitor or a county registrar, as the case may be,

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 4 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 (c) 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 President of the Circuit Court, an ordinary judge of the Circuit Court,

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

(c) 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.”.