64.— The Courts of Justice Act 1936 is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following for section 32:

“Appeal Towns.

32.— Each city and town specified in the Second Schedule to this Act shall be an appeal town for the purposes of this Part of this Act.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following for section 34:

“The High Court on Circuit.

34.— (1) Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8), the High Court shall, not less than once in every year, at such times as shall be determined by the President of the High Court, sit in the appeal towns referred to in subsection (2) for the purposes mentioned in that subsection and to transact such other business as shall lawfully be brought before it.

(2) Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8), the President of the High Court shall designate the appeal towns in which the High Court shall sit in accordance with subsection (1) to hear appeals from the Circuit Court.

(3) For the purposes of this section, one or more judges of the High Court shall hold sittings of the High Court in the appeal towns referred to in subsection (2) where their attendance is required as determined by the President of the High Court.

(4) The High Court when sitting in an appeal town in accordance with this section shall be known and is in this Act referred to as the High Court on Circuit, and the sittings of the High Court in any such appeal town in accordance with this section shall be known and are in this Act referred to as sittings of the High Court on Circuit.

(5) The President of the High Court shall determine, in respect of each sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the number of judges who shall sit for the purposes of the High Court on Circuit and the day and hour at which such sittings shall commence in an appeal town on each such Circuit.

(6) Where in respect of any sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the judge (or if more than one judge shall be sitting, the senior of the judges) who shall be sitting ascertains that there is no business to be transacted at such sittings in any particular appeal town, that judge may direct in writing that it shall not be obligatory to hold such sitting in that appeal town.

(7) Where the President of the High Court determines that the effective discharge of the business of the High Court so requires, he or she may direct that no sitting of the High Court on Circuit shall be held in a particular appeal town in a particular year.

(8) Where the President of the High Court gives a direction in accordance with subsection (7), appeals from the Circuit Court which would, but for such direction, be due for hearing in the appeal town concerned, shall be heard at—

(a) a sitting of the High Court on Circuit in such other appeal town as the President of the High Court may designate, or

(b) the High Court sitting in Dublin,

as the President of the High Court may direct.

(9) Where the President of the High Court gives a direction under this section he or she shall make arrangements for the direction to be sent to the county registrar for the county in which any appeal town so affected is situate.”,

(c) by the substitution of the following for section 35:

“The judges of the High Court on Circuit.

35.— (1) The President of the High Court shall, if and when he or she thinks proper, travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit, and every other judge of the High Court shall travel and sit as a judge of the High Court when requested by the President of the High Court to do so.

(2) The Chief Justice shall, if and when he or she thinks proper, travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit, and every other judge of the Supreme Court shall travel and sit as a judge of the High Court on Circuit when requested by the Chief Justice to do so, and every such other judge when so travelling and sitting shall be an additional judge of the High Court.

(3) The President of the High Court after such consultations as he or she thinks proper with the judges concerned, shall determine, in respect of every sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the several judges of the High Court who shall be requested to travel and sit for the purposes of such sittings and the particular judge or judges who shall so travel and sit on each High Court Circuit, and the President of the High Court may alter or vary any such determination.

(4) The Chief Justice after such consultations as he or she thinks proper with the judges concerned, shall determine, in respect of every sitting of the High Court on Circuit, the several judges of the Supreme Court who shall be requested to travel and sit for the purposes of such sittings and the particular judge or judges who shall so travel and sit on each High Court Circuit, and the Chief Justice may alter or vary any such determination.”,

(d) by the repeal of section 36,

(e) in section 38 by the substitution of the following for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) in every other case—

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii), to the High Court on Circuit sitting in the appeal town designated for the appeal in accordance with section 34(2),

(ii) where a direction has been given pursuant to section 34(7) in respect of the appeal town in which the appeal, but for such direction, would have been heard, to the High Court on Circuit sitting in such other appeal town, or to the High Court sitting in Dublin, as the case may be, as directed in accordance with section 34(8),

(iii) in subsection (4) by the substitution of “to any other appeal town or to Dublin” for “or to any other appeal town on the same circuit or to Dublin”, and

(iv) in subsection (5)(a) by the substitution of “in another appeal town” for “in another appeal town in the same circuit”,”,

(f) by the substitution of the matter in the Schedule to this Act for the Second Schedule to that Act.