§ (1) Any existing judge may, at or any time after the date on which the Constitution of the Irish Free State comes into operation, resign his office on signifying his desire to do so to His Maiestw's representative, and thereupon His Majesty may, if lie thinks fit, notwithstanding that such judge has not completed the period of service entitling him to a pension, grant to 639 him such pension, not exceeding the pension to which he would on that completion have been entitled, as His Majesty thinks fit.
§ (2) When a new Court is established by the Parliament of the Irish Free State in the place of any existing Court or Courts, every existing judge then holding office as a judge of any 6uch existing Court shall on such abolition of office, be entitled to receive by way of compensation for loss of office a pension equivalent to two-thirds of his salary, and, in addition, an annual allowance payable for such period and of such amount, not exceeding (when added to the amount of his pension) his full salary, as may be determined to be reasonable and just, regard being had to the tenure and character of his existing office, the probability of his further continuance therein but for the establishment of the Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State and all the circumstances of the case.
§ The amount of the annual allowance shall, subject as aforesaid, be determined by a committee consisting of the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls in England, and a Judge of the Supreme Court of England nominated by the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.
§ (3) Where any judge who is entitled to a pension under this Part of this Schedule is appointed to a judicial office in Great Britain or Ireland, then, so long as he holds such office, the pension and any allowance, to which he may be entitled under this Part of this Schedule shall be wholly suspended if the emoluments of such office are equal to or greater than those of his existing office, and if they are less than those of his existing office, so much only of the pension and allowance (if any) shall be payable as with the emoluments of such office shall be equal to the emoluments of his existing office.
§ (4) If any annual allowance is payable by way of compensation under Article 10 of the said Articles of Agreement (hereinafter referred to as a compensation allowance) to a judge who is entitled to a pension under this Part of this Schedule, then so long as the compensation allowance continues to be paid, the pension and any allowance to which he may be entitled under this Part of this Schedule shall be wholly suspended if the compensation allowance is equal to or greater than the pension or the sum of the pension and allowance, as the case may be to which he is 60 entitled, and if it is less than the said pension or the sum of the said pension and allowance, then so much only of the said pension and allowance (if any) shall be payable as shall b? equivalent to the difference.
§ Provided that, if a lump sum is paid to any such judge by way of compensation under the said Article, it shall be treated for the purpose of the foregoing provision as if it were an annuity of such an amount as could have been purchased for the lump sum if invested at the time of payment in an immediate life annuity according to the Post Office Tables.
§ (6) For the purpose of this Part of this Schedule the expression "judge" means any 640 judge of a Supreme Court and any judge of a county court or recorder of a borough; and the expression "existing" means existing or holding office at the date when the Constitution of the Irish Free State comes into operation.