§ The Solicitor-GeneralI beg to move, in page 4, line 40, at the end to insert:
public general Act" includes a public general Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.I trust that this Amendment will be less controversial than the last, because it is little more than a drafting Amendment. Hon. Members will see that Clause 4 (1) applies the provisions of the Clause to persons promoted to a First Schedule office from any other judicial office set out in Part I of the First Schedule to the House of Commons Disqualification Act, 1957, but only if the pension rights attaching to the last mentioned office, namely, a House of Commons Disqualification Act judicial office, are prescribed by a public general act or by any local act, scheme or arrangement which the Lord Chancellor may approve for the purpose of the Clause.
The words "public general Act" would, without the Amendment, mean an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and would not include an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Therefore, without the Amendment, a county court judge in Northern Ireland might be promoted to the High Court 1504 Bench in Northern Ireland, but he would attract the provisions of Clause 4 only provided that the Lord Chancellor approved the legislation governing the pensions rights attached to those offices. That would obviously be undesirable and would serve no useful purpose.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Clauses 11 and 12 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Schedules agreed to.
§ Bill reported, with Amendments; as amended, considered; read the Third time and passed.