HL Deb 21 April 1966 vol 274 cc38-9

5.0 p.m.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR

My Lords, I rise to propose to the House a Motion which I hope your Lordships will be willing to consider without notice. It concerns the appointment of the two Appellate Committees of the House. These, as their name implies, are the Committees which are authorised to hear Judicial Appeals to your Lordships' House, and the reason why there are two of them is simply to enable two Committees to sit simultaneously if and when the pressure of Judicial Business requires it.

The Motion, which I am now moving, is in standard form and is moved at the beginning of every Session. The special reason for urgency on this occasion, and my reason for asking your Lordships to consider it without prior notice, is that the Committee is required to meet on Monday next, before this House will meet again, to continue the hearing of an appeal, Boardman v. Phipps, which was in part heard during last Session. This situation of urgency is one which has occurred before, and nearly always in the same circumstances as to-day's ℄namely, that the hearing of an appeal has been begun in the previous Session, but has not been concluded, and it then becomes urgent to continue the hearing with the least possible delay in the new Session of Parliament. For these reasons the House has been willing in the past to consider a Motion of this kind without previous notice, and I hope your Lordships will be willing to do so again today. I beg to move.

Moved, That this House, in discharge of its constitutional duty to act as the ultimate tribunal in appeals from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, orders that two Committees, each of which shall include all Lords qualified under Section 5 of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1876, as amended by any subsequent enactment, be appointed to hear, during the present Session, such appeals as may be referred to them in order to secure the due expedition of public and judicial Business; and that the Committees have leave to report to the House from time to time.℄(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.