§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR rose, to move, That all Lords qualified under section 5 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, as amended by any subsequent enactment, be appointed such Committees as may be required to consider Petitions and other matters relating to Causes depending in this House and to Causes formerly depending in this House; and all other matters relating thereto; and that the Committees do appoint their own chairmen.
§ The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, the purpose of the second Motion which stands in my name is to make rather similar arrangements to those which I have already described in relation to the Appellate Committee. The difference between the two Motions is this. The first related to the Appellate Committee, which hears substantive appeals on your Lordships' behalf. The present Motion relates to the Appeal Committee, which is the body to be charged with hearing Petitions to this House for leave to appeal, in cases where the obtaining of such leave is a necessary preliminary to the hearing of an appeal. If the Appeal Committee refuse leave, then that effectively is the end of the matter. If, however, the Committee should grant leave to appeal, then the appeal will normally be brought before the Appellate Committee for hearing.
§ The only novel point about the present Motion to which I should draw your Lordships' attention is that it provides for the first time for the Appeal Committee to sit in more than one Division. This may be necessary in order to deal with Petitions without delay. During the course of the last Session there was an occasion when the number of Petitions then outstanding was such that it would 31 have been desirable for two Appeal Committees to sit simultaneously in order to deal with them. Moreover, it so happened that the state of business in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council at that time was slight enough for the necessary Law Lords to have been spared. Unfortunately, however, the terms of the Sessional Order which was passed this time last year setting up the Appeal Committee were too narrow to authorise the Committee to sit in two Divisions. It is for this reason that the Motion which is now before your Lordships has been drafted in the wider terms which I have described. My Lords I bee to move.
§ Moved, That all Lords qualified under section 5 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, as amended by any subsequent enactment, be appointed such Committees as may be required to consider Petitions and other matters relating to Causes depending in this House and to Causes formerly depending in this House; and all other matters relating thereto; and that the Committees do appoint their own chairmen.—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.