140.— (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, the Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court to hear and determine civil partnership law proceedings.

(2) The District Court, and the Circuit Court on appeal from the District Court, have concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court to hear and determine proceedings under sections 45, 46, 47 and 50 except that—

(a) they do not have jurisdiction to make an order under one of those sections for the payment of a periodical sum at a rate greater than €500 per week F64[for support of a civil partner or €150 per week for the support of a dependent child of the civil partners],

(b) they do not have jurisdiction to make an order or direction under one of those sections in a matter in relation to which the High Court has made an order or direction under that section, and

(c) the District Court does not have jurisdiction to make an order or direction under one of those sections in a matter in relation to which the Circuit Court has made an order or direction otherwise than on appeal from the District Court.

(3) The court shall only exercise its jurisdiction in civil partnership law proceedings if a party to the proceedings—

(a) is domiciled in the State on the date on which the proceedings are commenced, or

(b) is ordinarily resident in the State throughout the one-year period that ends on that date.

(4) The jurisdiction conferred on the Circuit Court may be exercised by the judge of the circuit in which a party to the civil partnership law proceedings ordinarily resides or carries on a business, profession or occupation.

F65[(5) The Circuit Court shall transfer proceedings to the High Court on application to it by a party to the proceedings, if land to which the proceedings relate has a market value that exceeds €3,000,000.

(5A) In subsection (5) and the following subsection, ‘market value’ means, in relation to land, the price that would have been obtained in respect of the unencumbranced fee simple were the land to have been sold on the open market, in the year immediately preceding the bringing of the proceedings concerned, in such manner and subject to such conditions as might reasonably be calculated to have resulted in the vendor obtaining the best price for the land.

(5B) Where civil partnership law proceedings are brought in the Circuit Court in relation to land and the plaintiff or applicant in the proceedings alleges that the market value of the land concerned does not exceed the monetary amount specified in subsection (5), it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the market value of the land does not exceed the foregoing amount.]

(6) An order made or act done in the course of the proceedings before a transfer under subsection (5) is valid unless discharged or varied by the High Court.

(7) The District Court and the Circuit Court shall transfer to the High Court proceedings under Part 4 in which the value of household chattels exceeding F66[€15,000] is at issue, on application to it by a party to the proceedings.

(8) An order made or act done in the course of the proceedings before a transfer under subsection (7) is valid unless discharged or varied by the High Court.

(9) If a civil partner is a person of unsound mind and there is a committee of the civil partner’s estate, the jurisdiction under this section in proceedings under Part 4 may, subject to subsections (5) to (8), be exercised by the court that has appointed the committee.

F65[(10) Subject to subsection (9), the District Court has all the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear and determine a question arising out of section 34 where the value of the household chattels intended to be disposed of or removed or actually disposed of or removed does not exceed €15,000.]