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their seats and the oaths as aforesaid, shall be transacted by such House during such prorogation.

Any order of the House of Lords may for the purposes of this Act be made at any time after the passing of this Act.

Parliament.

9. If on the occasion of a dissolution of Parliament Her Hearing and determination of Majesty is graciously pleased to think that it would be expedient, appeals during with a view to prevent delay in the administration of justice, to dissolution of provide for the hearing and determination of appeals during such dissolution, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by writing under Her sign manual, to authorise the Lords of Appeal in the name of the House of Lords to hear and determine appeals during the dissolution of Parliament, and for that purpose to sit in the House of Lords at such times as may be thought expedient; and upon such authority as aforesaid being given by Her Majesty, the Lords of Appeal may, during such dissolution, hear and determine appeals and act in all matters in relation thereto in the same manner in all respects as if their sittings were a continuation of the sittings of the House of Lords, and may in the name of the House of Lords exercise the jurisdiction of the House of Lords accordingly.

10. An appeal shall not be entertained by the House of Lords Fiat of Attorneywithout the consent of the Attorney-General or other law officer General.

of the Crown in any case where proceedings in error or on appeal could not hitherto have been had in the House of Lords without the fiat or consent of such officer.

11. After the commencement of this Act, error shall not lie Procedure under to the House of Lords, and an appeal shall not lie from Act to supersede of any all other prothe courts from which an appeal to the House of Lords is given cedure. by this Act, except in manner provided by this Act, and subject to such conditions as to the value of the subject-matter in dispute, and as to giving security for costs, and as to the time within which the appeal shall be brought, and generally as to all matters of practice and procedure, or otherwise, as may be imposed by orders of the House of Lords.

17. On and after the first day of December, one thousand Disposal of eight hundred and seventy-six, every action and proceeding in single judge. the High Court of Justice, and all business arising out of the same, except as is hereinafter provided, shall, so far as practicable and convenient, be heard, determined, and disposed of before a single judge, and all proceedings in an action subsequent to the hearing or trial, and down to and including the final judgment or order, except as aforesaid, and always excepting any proceedings on appeal in the Court of Appeal, shall, so far as is practicable and convenient, be had and taken before the judge before whom the trial or hearing of the cause took place: Provided, nevertheless, that divisional courts of the High Court of Justice may be held for the transaction

Attendance of judges of High of Appeal.

of any business which may for the time being be ordered by the rules of court to be heard by a divisional court; and any such divisional court when held shall be constituted of two judges of the court and no more, unless the president of the division to which such divisional court belongs, with the concurrence of the other judges of such division, or a majority thereof, is of opinion that such divisional court should be constituted of a greater number of judges than two, in which case such court may be constituted of such number of judges as the president, with such concurrence as aforesaid, may think expedient; nevertheless, the decisions of a divisional court shall not be invalidated by reason of such court being constituted of a greater number than two judges.

19. Where a judge of the High Court of Justice has been Court on Court requested to attend as an additional judge at the sittings of the Court of Appeal under section four of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1875, such judge shall, although the period has expired during which his attendance was requested, attend the sittings of the Court of Appeal for the purpose of giving judgment or otherwise in relation to any case which may have been heard by the Court of Appeal during his attendance on the Court of Appeal.

No appeal in certain cases.

Appointment of deputy by district registrar.

Additional judge.

Style of judges.

20. Where by Act of Parliament it is provided that the decision of any court or judge the jurisdiction of which court or judge is transferred to the High Court of Justice is to be final, an appeal shall not lie in any such case from the decision of the High Court of Justice, or of any judge thereof, to Her Majesty's Court of Appeal.

22. A district registrar of the Supreme Court of Judicature may from time to time, but in each case with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, and subject to such regulations as the Lord Chancellor may from time to time make, appoint a deputy, and all acts authorised or required to be done by, to, or before a district registrar may be done by, to, or before any deputy so appointed: Provided always, that in no case such appointment shall be made for a period exceeding three months.

The Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1877.

40 VICT. C. 9.

By this Act power is given to Her Majesty to appoint an additional judge of the High Court of Justice. Such judge to be in the same position as if he had been appointed a puisne judge of the High Court under the Judicature Acts, and (subject to power of transfer) to be attached to the Chancery Division.

It is also enacted that the ordinary judges of the Court of

Appeal shall be styled "Lords Justices of Appeal," and the judges of the High Court of Justice (other than the Presidents of Divisions) shall be styled "Justices of the High Court."

The Supreme Court of Judicature (Officers) Act, 1879. 42 & 43 VICT. c. 78.

Preliminary.

1. This Act shall be construed as one with the Supreme Construction Court of Judicature Acts, 1873, 1875, and 1877, and may be and short title. cited together with those Acts as "The Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873 to 1879," and separately as The Supreme

Court of Judicature (Officers) Act, 1879."

66

2. This Act shall, except where it is otherwise expressed, come Commencement. into operation on the 28th October, 1879, which day is in this

Act referred to as the commencement of this Act.

3. In this Act" existing means existing at the commence- "Existing." ment of this Act.

Central Office.

4. There shall be established a Central Office of the Supreme

Court of Judicature.

5. There shall be concentrated in and amalgamated with the Certain offices Central Office the following offices, namely:

The record and writ clerk's office;

The enrolment office;

The report office;

The offices of the masters of the Queen's Bench, Common
Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions, including the bills of sale
office;

The offices of the associates in the Queen's Bench, Common
Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions;

The Crown office of the Queen's Bench Division;

The Queen's Remembrancer's office;

The office of the Registrar of certificates of acknowledgments

of deeds by married women;

The office of the Registrar of Judgments; and

such other offices of the Supreme Court as may from time to time be amalgamated with the Central Office by rules of court.

6. There shall be transferred to the Central Office,—

(a.) The existing record and writ clerks ;

The existing clerk of enrolments;

The existing clerks in the report office;

The existing masters of the Queen's Bench, Common
Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions;

The existing associates in the Queen's Bench, Common
Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions.

amalgamated with Central Office.

Transfer of certain officers

to Central Office.

The existing Queen's Remembrancer;

The existing Queen's coroner and attorney, and the existing master of the Crown office other than the Queen's coroner and attorney;

The existing registrar of certificates of acknowledgments of deeds by married women; and

The existing registrar of judgments;

with their respective clerks and messengers, or the clerks and messengers employed in their respective offices;

(b.) Such of the existing officers employed under the registrars of the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division as the Judges of that Division respectively select as necessary for the performance of the duties to be performed in the Central Office; and

(c.) Such other officers of and persons employed in the Supreme Court or the offices thereof as are from time to time transferred to the Central Office by rules of court. 7. The Central Office shall be under the control and superinbe under control tendence of officers called masters of the Supreme Court of Supreme Court. Judicature.

Central Office to

of masters of

First masters of

Provided that the existing clerk of enrolments shall, as long as he continues to hold that office, retain his control and superintendence over the business heretofore performed in his office and over the persons for the time being employed in the performance of that business.

8. (1.) The first masters of the Supreme Court of Judicature Supreme Court. shall be

Appointment

and removal of Central Office.

officers of

The existing masters of the Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions;

The existing Queen's coroner and attorney;

The existing master of the Crown office other than the
Queen's coroner and attorney:

The existing record and writ clerks; and

The existing associates in the Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions,

(2.) As to the salaries of the first masters of the Supreme Court.

(3.) A vacancy in the office of any master of the Supreme Court other than a master being Queen's coroner and attorney or master of the Crown Office, shall not be filled until the number of masters is reduced to eighteen.

9. (1.) The right of filling any vacancy in the office of master of the Supreme Court, or in any clerkship in the Central Office, shall, subject as in the next sub-section mentioned, be vested in the Lord Chief Justice of England and the Master of the Rolls in rotation and in such order as they by agreement among themselves determine.

(2.) The right of filling any vacancy in the office of Queen's coroner and attorney and of master in the Crown Office shall be vested in the Lord Chief Justice of England, and the persons appointed to these offices respectively shall be by virtue of their appointment masters of the Supreme Court.

(3.) Subject as aforesaid, the right of filling any vacancy in, and of making any new appointment in or for the purposes of, the Central Office shall be vested in the Lord Chancellor with the concurrence of the Treasury.

(4.) Any officer of the Central Office may be removed by a majority of the judges mentioned in this section, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, for reasons to be assigned in the order of removal.

masters of

Supreme Court.

10. A person shall not be qualified to be appointed a master Qualification of of the Supreme Court unless he is or has been a practising barrister or solicitor of five years' standing, or has practised for five years as a special pleader or as a special pleader and barrister; but nothing in this section shall affect the qualification of any existing officer of the Supreme Court to be appointed to any office dealt with by this Act.

11. Every master of the Supreme Court shall hold office Tenure of office. during good behaviour.

Central Office.

12. (1.) The business to be performed in the Central Office Business of shall, subject to the rules of court, comprise all the business performed in the offices by or in pursuance of this Act amalgamated with the Central Office, and shall be distributed among the several officers of the Central Office, in such manner as may be directed by rules of court.

(2.) The several officers of the Central Office shall be interchangeable one with another, and shall be capable of performing and liable to perform the duties of each other in any department of the office, and generally shall perform such duties and have such powers in relation to the business of the Supreme Court as may be directed by rules of court, subject to this qualification, that the duties required to be performed by any officer transferred to the Central Office by or in pursuance of this Act shall, except as far as they are modified with his consent, be the same as or analogous to those which he performed before being so transferred.

(3.) Subject as aforesaid, all officers of the Central Office shall continue to perform the duties heretofore performed by them in their respective offices and to have and exercise the powers heretofore vested in them, in the same manner, as nearly as may be, as if this Act had not passed.

clerks of Central

13. The clerks employed in the Central Office shall be classified Classification of as principal clerks, first-class clerks, second-class clerks, and office. copying clerks, or in such other manner as the Lord Chancellor,

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