Summary Jurisdiction Act 1884

An Act to repeal divers Enactments rendered unnecessary by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts and other Acts relating to Proceedings before Courts of Summary Jurisdiction, and to make further provision for the uniformity of Proceedings before those Courts. [7th August 1884.]

WHEREAS the Summary Jurisdiction Acts  regulate the procedure before courts of summary jurisdiction and on appeals from those courts to courts of quarter sessions, and it is expedient to provide for uniformity of procedure in all such cases:

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1884.

Commencement of Act.

2. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of December one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four.

Repeal of obsolete punishments for non-payment of fines and other sums of money.

3. Whereas the Summary Jurisdiction Acts provide for the imprisonment of a person for the nonpaymentin certain cases of a sum of money adjudged to be paid by the conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction, and it is expedient to repeal so much of any enactment as provides the punishment of whipping or any punishment other than imprisonment, with or without hard labour, provided for such nonpayment: Be it therefore enacted that-

So much of any Act as enacts that a person on nonpayment of a sum of money adjudged to be paid by the conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction in England shall be liable to be whipped or to any punishment other than imprisonment, with or without hard labour, is hereby repealed.

Repeal of Acts in schedule.

4. The Acts contained in the schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent in the third column of that schedule mentioned.
 * Provided that-
 * (1.) Where an enactment extends beyond England that enactment shall be repealed only as regards England; and
 * (2.) The expression in the said "schedule conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction" shall mean a conviction or order made in pursuance of the Summary Jurisdiction Acts; and
 * (3.) This repeal shall not revive any enactment repealed by any of the repealed Acts, nor shall it affect-
 * (a.) Anything duly done or suffered before the commencement of this Act under any enactment hereby repealed; or
 * (b.) Any legal proceeding or appeal commenced, or any writ, warrant, or instrument made or issued before the commencement of this Act;

and any such legal proceeding, appeal, writ, warrant, and instrument may be carried on and executed as if this Act had not passed.

A reference in any Act of Parliament or other document to any enactment repealed by this Act, whether incorporating or applying such enactment or otherwise, shall be construed to refer to the corresponding enactment in the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, and so far as there is no such corresponding enactment shall be repealed.

Removal of doubts as to application of Summary Jurisdiction Acts.

5. Whereas doubts may arise as to whether the Summary Jurisdiction Acts apply, or will, after the repeal enacted by this Act takes effect, apply to the proceedings before justices referred to in the sections mentioned in the third column of the schedule to this Act, and it is expedient to remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted that-

The repeal enacted by this Act shall not take away any jurisdiction of any justices to act summarily in any matter referred to in an enactment hereby repealed, and the Summary Jurisdiction Acts shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, apply to every proceeding before justices as to which the procedure is wholly or partly repealed by this Act in substitution for the procedure so repealed.

And for the further removal of doubts it is hereby declared that where by virtue of the repeal enacted by this Act or otherwise any statute authorising the infliction by any justice or justices of a penalty or fine, either as a sole punishment or as an alternative punishment for imprisonment, provides no method for the recovery of such penalty or fine, sections nineteen and twenty-one of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848, as amended by section twenty-one of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, shall apply to the recovery of such penalty or fine.

'''Application of provisions of 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49. respecting appeals to appeals under prior Acts.'''

6. Where a person is authorised by any Act passed before the commencement of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, to appeal from the conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction made in pursuance of the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, or from the refusal to make any conviction or order in pursuance of those Acts, to a court of general or quarter sessions, he shall after the passing of this Act appeal to such court subject to the conditions and regulations contained in the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, with respect to an appeal to a court of general or quarter sessions.

'''Removal of doubts as to 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49. s. 50.'''

7. Whereas by section fifty of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, it is enacted that the expression "court of summary jurisdiction" shall in that Act and any future Act mean "any justice or justices of the peace or other magistrate by whatever name called to whom jurisdiction is given by or who is or are authorised to act under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts or any of such Acts."

And whereas doubts have arisen as to whether the said section extends to such justice, justices, or magistrate when acting under some Act other than the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, and it is expedient to remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted as follows:

It is hereby declared that the above recited definition of court of summary jurisdiction in section fifty of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, includes such justice, justices, or magistrate as therein mentioned whether acting under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, or any of them, or under any other Act, or by virtue of his or their commission or by the common law.

'''Extension of 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49. s. 30.'''

8. Whereas doubts have arisen whether under the thirtieth section of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, the justices or council therein mentioned have power to provide more than one petty sessional court-house, and it is expedient that such doubts shall be removed: Be it therefore enacted as follows:

It is hereby declared that the power of the thirtieth section of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, given to the justices or council therein mentioned to provide a petty sessional court-house shall be deemed to extend to providing more than one such petty sessional court-house if the justices or council shall think it necessary or expedient so to do.

And for the further removal of doubts it is hereby declared that a petty sessional court-house or occasional court-house for the use of the justices of any county may be outside the limits of the petty sessional division for which such court-house is provided or appointed, and may be either in the said county, or in any adjoining county or borough, and for the purpose of the jurisdiction of any justices acting in such court-house the same shall be deemed to be within the county and the petty sessional division for which such justices act.

'''Removal of doubts as to effect of 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50. s. 227. on 42 & 43 Vict. c. 49. s. 38.'''

9. Nothing in section two hundred and twenty-seven of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, shall be taken to have repealed section thirty-eight of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879.

Saving for the recovery of poor rates, &c.

10. Nothing in this Act shall alter the procedure for the recovery of or any remedy for the nonpayment of any poor rate, or of any rate or sum the payment of which is not adjudged by the conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction.

Recovery of payments certified by district auditors.

11. The payment of any sum certified by a district auditor to be due in accordance with the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1844, and the Acts amending the same, or with any other Act may, together with the costs of the proceedings for the recovery thereof, be enforced in like manner as if it were a sum due in respect of the poor rate.

Effect of forms.

12. Whereas by section twenty-nine of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, the Lord Chancellor is authorised from time to time to make rules in relation to the forms to be used under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts or any of them, and to annul and to add to forms in relation to summary proceedings contained in other Acts, and doubts have arisen with respect to the effect of the forms altered by such rules, and it is expedient to remove such doubts :  Be it therefore enacted that-

A form authorised by any rules for the time being in force in pursuance of the said section shall be of the same effect as if it were contained in the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848, or in any other Act to which the form is made applicable.

SCHEDULE.

ENACTMENTS REPEALED.

This schedule down to the year 1868 refers to the Statutes, Revised Edition, published by authority under the direction of the Statute Law Committee.

A description or citation of a portion of an Act in this schedule is inclusive of the word, section, or other part first or last mentioned or otherwise referred to as forming the beginning or as forming the end of the portion described in the description or citation.