HC Deb 14 December 1916 vol 88 cc919-20W
Mr. LUNDON

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether any resident magistrate has the right to become seised of a case to the exclusion of all other justices in the same Petty Sessions district, by having a case secretly brought before him in the first instance by the police in his own private residence or in a police barracks; whether this procedure constitutes a resident magistrate acting under such circumstances a Court of Summary Jurisdiction; and whether this practice has the sanction of the Irish Government?

Mr. DUKE

I am advised that in all cases in which a single justice has a right to adjudicate out of Petty Sessions the police are entitled to bring the case before any justice having jurisdiction in the district, and that thereupon such justice becomes seised of the case to the exclusion of others and is acting as a Court of Summary Jurisdiction. The question is not one of practice, but of law. If any unfair or irregular practice is alleged, the King's Bench Division in Ireland has power to review the proceedings.

Mr. LUNDON

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland how many of the Irish resident magistrates had at the time of their appointments legal qualifications; is he aware that some kind of rule exists to the effect that the Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary has a certain number of nominations for these positions at his disposal; and, if so, whether he proposes that such a practice should be continued?

Mr. DUKE

Of fifty-eight resident magistrates now serving, twenty-eight had legal qualifications at the date of their appointment. Fourteen others had served for a number of years as officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary. These had passed an elementary examination in law before appointment to the constabulary, and in the course of their duties acquired considerable knowledge of the law as administered at Petty Sessions. It is the practice to appoint about one-third of the resident magistrates from the officers of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and it is not proposed to change the practice.