§ Order for Second Reading read.
§ The Attorney-General (Sir Donald Somervell)I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."
I can explain this Bill in a very few sentences. It arises in these circumstances. There is at present before the Parliament of Northern Ireland a Bill extending the jurisdiction of their county courts. That is a matter within their powers but in extending the county court jurisdiction it is necessary to make certain amendments in the Acts affecting the High Court, in particular those provisions of 1664 such Acts which deal with the matter of remitting actions which are within the jurisdiction of the county court, from the High Court to the county court and vice versa. The High Court, being a matter within the powers of this House and not within the powers of the Government of Northern Ireland, it is necessary that those alterations in the law, consequential on the amendment of the county court jurisdiction, should be dealt with by a Bill here. That is the purpose of Clause 1. The jurisdiction in matters of contract has been put up to £100 and there are additions in other matters such as disputes affecting the title of land and the equitable jurisdiction.
Clause 2 deals with a matter of court procedure of a somewhat different kind. At present in Northern Ireland the rules of court have to be laid before Parliament for 100 days. That is an unduly long period and causes inconvenience, particularly in war-time when the House sits less frequently, and it is made worse by the fact that if the 100 days condition is not fulfilled in the course of any one Session, you have to start again at the beginning of the next Session. I should have said, in connection with Clause 1, that there is also a general provision there that if at any future time the Parliament of Northern Ireland desires to alter the county court jurisdiction it can deal with the whole matter, including these consequential matters, and will not have to ask this Parliament to deal with the matters which are dealt with in this Bill.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Bill read a Second time.
§ Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House, for the next Sitting day.—[Major Sir James Edmondson.]