Juries Act 1927

PART I. Qualification and Liability for Service as Juror.

1 Jury districts.

1.—(1) Every county borough shall be a jury district for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Every county shall be a jury district for the purposes of this Act save during such time as an order under this section dividing such county into more than one jury district is in force.

(3) The Minister may by order from time to time as and when he shall think fit divide any county into two or more jury districts, and while any such order is in force each of the jury districts delimited thereby shall be a jury district for the purposes of this Act.

(4) The Minister may at any time, as and when he shall think fit, by order revoke or vary any order made under the foregoing sub-section.

(5) An order made under either of the foregoing sub-sections may be expressed to operate as from any date subsequent to the date of the order named therein for the purpose and whenever any such date is so named the order shall come into force on the date so named.

2 Minimum rating qualification.

2.—(1) The Minister shall by order prescribe for every jury district the rateable value of land which is to be the minimum rating qualification for jurors in that jury district and may by any such order prescribe different rateable values in respect of different classes of land.

(2) The Minister may from time to time as and when he thinks fit by order vary the rateable value prescribed by him under this section in respect of land or any class or classes of land in any jury district.

(3) The rateable value or several rateable values for the time being prescribed under this section in respect of any jury district shall be the minimum rating qualification for jurors in that jury district.

(4) Whenever a county is by order made under this Act divided into two or more jury districts the rateable value or several rateable values which immediately before the making of such order was or were the minimum rating qualification for jurors in the jury district co-terminous with such county shall, until otherwise provided by order made under this section, be the minimum rating qualification for jurors in every of the jury districts into which such county is so divided.

3 Qualification and liability for jury service.

3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, every citizen of the age of twenty-one years or upwards and under the age of sixty-five years who, either in his own name or in a tradename and whether alone or jointly with any other person or persons or as a member of a firm or co-partnership, is rated for the relief of the poor in respect of land in a jury district shall, if the total rateable value of all the land in respect of which he is so rated in such jury district equals or exceeds the minimum rating qualification for such jury district, be qualified and liable to serve as a juror for the trial of all or any issues which are for the time being triable with a jury drawn wholly or partly from such jury district, unless he is for the time being disqualified for or exempt from serving as a juror.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years or upwards and under the age of sixty-five years who is not qualified and liable to serve as a juror by virtue of the foregoing sub-section and whose wife is rated for the relief of the poor in respect of land in a jury district shall, if the total rateable value of all the land in respect of which his wife is so rated in such jury district equals or exceeds the minimum rating qualification for such jury district, be qualified and liable to serve as a juror for the trial of all or any issues triable with a jury drawn wholly or partly from such jury district, unless he is for the time being disqualified for or exempt from serving as a juror or he proves to the satisfaction of the registration officer that he never had any interest in such land and did not directly or indirectly provide any of the purchase money thereof and that he has not a separate income, earned or unearned, sufficient for his own maintenance.

(3) A person who is qualified and liable to serve as a juror in respect of two or more jury districts shall be entitled, on application to the registration officer or officers concerned, to be exempted from his liability to serve as a juror in respect of all such jury districts save one thereof and such one shall be, if such person is registered as a Dáil elector in any one of such jury districts, the jury district in which he is so registered and, if he is not registered as a Dáil elector in any of such jury districts, such one of such jury districts as he shall select.

(4) A person shall not be qualified or liable to serve as a juror in respect of a jury district unless he is entered as a Dáil or a local government elector in the register of electors for such jury district.

4 Disqualification for jury service.

4.—Any person who has been or shall be convicted of treason or treason felony or of any felony or of perjury shall, unless he has or shall have obtained a free pardon therefor, be absolutely disqualified from serving as a juror.

5 Exemption from jury service.

5.—The persons specified in the First Schedule to this Act shall be absolutely freed and exempted from serving as jurors and all other exemptions from serving as a juror subsisting immediately before the passing of this Act shall cease immediately upon such passing.

PART II. Registration of Jurors.

6 Definitions in relation to Part II.

6.—(1) This Part of this Act shall be read as one with the Electoral Act, 1923 (No. 12 of 1923), and accordingly all expressions and words used in this Part of this Act which are also used in that Act have the same meanings in this Part of this Act as they have in that Act.

(2) In this Part of this Act all references to the register of electors for a jury district shall be construed as references (as the case may require) either to the register of electors for the registration area which is co-terminous with such jury district or to so much of the register of electors for the registration area containing such jury district as relates to the portion of such area contained within such district.

7 Inclusion of jurors lists in registers of electors.

7.—(1) Every register of electors to be prepared pursuant to the Electoral Act, 1923, shall, in addition to the matters required by that Act to be shown therein, show in the prescribed manner in respect of each person whose name appears therein whether he is or is not qualified and liable to serve or is disqualified or exempted from serving as a juror in respect of the jury district to which the register relates.

(2) It shall be the duty of the registration officer to include and identify in the prescribed manner in the electors' lists to be prepared by him pursuant to the Electoral Act, 1923, the names of all persons in each registration unit in his registration area appearing to be qualified and liable to serve as jurors or to be disqualified or exempted from so serving.

(3) The several lists of claimants, of persons to whose registration notice of objection has been given, and of claimants to whose registration notice of objection has been given, prepared by a registration officer pursuant to the Electoral Act, 1923, shall distinguish in the prescribed manner which of the persons whose names are included in such lists appear to be qualified and liable to serve as jurors or to be disqualified or exempted from so serving.

(4) The provisions of Parts II and VIII of the Electoral Act, 1923, and of the First and Ninth Schedules of that Act shall, so far as the same are not inconsistent with this Act, apply to the matters required by this Act to be included in the register of electors and in the electors' lists and in other lists respectively in like manner as those provisions apply to the matters required by the Electoral Act, 1923, to be included in the said Register and lists respectively.

(5) This section shall not apply to a university constituency or to the registration officer, register of electors, electors lists or other lists for such constituency.

8 Place of registration of jurors.

8.—(1) The liability of a person to serve as a juror in respect of any jury district shall be entered in the register of electors for such jury district at the place in such register at which such person is entered therein as an elector notwithstanding that his qualification for serving as juror may be in respect of other lands than those at which his address as stated in such register is situate.

(2) The disqualification or exemption of a person for or from serving as a juror shall be entered in the register of electors and at the place therein in and at which his liability to serve as a juror would have been entered if he were not so disqualified or exempt.

9 Additional duties of rate collectors and registration officers.

9.—(1) Any person holding the office of rate collector may, in addition to the duties mentioned in paragraph (a) of Rule 7 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923, be required to furnish such information in relation to the persons rated for the relief of the poor in his district as may be necessary for the inclusion in the electors lists and the register of electors of the matters required by this Act to be included in those lists and that register respectively.

(2) The registration officer shall, in addition to the duties imposed on him by Rule 22 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 1923, make such alterations and corrections in the electors lists as he thinks necessary in order to secure that no person is entered more than once in the register of electors for his registration area as a person qualified and liable to serve as a juror.

10 Appeals in relation to jurors lists.

10.—(1) No appeal shall lie under section 16 of the Electoral Act, 1923, from any decision of the registration officer in relation to any matter required by this Act to be included in the register, and in lieu of such appeal, an appeal shall lie to the Judge of the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in the registration area from any decision of the registration officer on any question of law or fact in relation to any matter required by this Act to be included in the register, and such appeal may be brought although the appellant did not appear before, or send any claim or objection to, the registration officer.

(2) Where the appellant did not appear before, or send any claim or objection to, the registration officer, the appeal under this section shall be brought before the 26th day of April next after the decision of the registration officer is given, and in every other case the appeal under this section shall be brought within seven days after the decision of the registration officer is given.

(3) The qualification and liability of an appellant to serve as a juror shall not be affected by the fact that an appeal is pending under this section, and until such appeal is finally disposed of the qualification and liability aforesaid shall continue as if no such appeal had been brought.

11 Expenses of execution of Part II. of Act.

11.—(1) The expenses of the execution of this Part of this Act shall be paid, in the case of a county, by the council of that county out of the poor-rate as a county-at-large charge, and in the case of a county borough by the council of that county borough out of the rate or fund out of which the general expenses of the council are paid, or out of any other rate or fund which the Minister for Local Government and Public Health may, on the application of the council, approve.

(2) No secretary or clerk of the council of a county or county borough, clerk of an urban district council, or rate-collector or person acting as rate-collector appointed after the 15th day of November, 1923, shall receive any fees or other remuneration or any expenses in respect of duties performed by him in the execution of this Part of this Act.

12 Amendment of section 12 of Electoral Act, 1923.

12.—(1) There shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to the council of every county or county borough in aid of the fund or rate out of which any registration expenses are paid by that council in accordance with the Electoral Act, 1923, the following proportions of the registration expenses so paid, that is to say:—

(a) one-fourth of the amount paid by the council to the registration officer in respect of duties performed by any of the following officers who has or shall have been appointed after the 15th day of November, 1923, that is to say, in the case of an administrative county, the secretary of the council of the county or the clerk of the council of any urban district within the county, and, in the case of a county borough, the secretary or clerk of the council of the county borough, and

(b) one-third of the amount paid by the council to the registration officer in respect of duties performed by rate-collectors appointed after the 15th day of November, 1923, and

(c) one-half of all other registration expenses paid by the council aforesaid.

(2) Three-sevenths of the cost of the printing mentioned in sub-section (7) of section 12 of the Electoral Act, 1923, shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in that sub-section, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, and four-sevenths of the said costs shall be paid by the council by which the registration expenses of which such printing forms part are payable.

PART III. Jurors Lists.

13 Preparation of draft jurors lists.

13.—(1) On or after the 15th day of November in every year and before the next following 29th day of January every secretary of a county council, town clerk of a county or other borough, and clerk of an urban district shall prepare in accordance with this Act a draft jurors list for the county, borough, or district (as the case may be) and shall complete such draft jurors list and send the same to the county registrar having jurisdiction in such county, borough, or district on or before the said 29th day of January.

(2) For the purpose of the preparation of the draft jurors list every such secretary, town clerk, and clerk shall cause a house to house or other sufficient inquiry to be made by the poor rate collectors in his county, borough, or district and it shall be the duty of every such poor rate collector to make such inquiry and also to make such other inquiries for and to give such assistance in the preparation of the draft jurors list as shall be required of him by such secretary, town clerk, or clerk.

14 Form and contents of draft jurors lists.

14.—(1) Every draft jurors list shall be in the prescribed form and every county registrar shall on demand furnish to every secretary of a county council, town clerk of a county or other borough, and clerk of an urban district in his area a sufficient number of printed forms of draft jurors lists for the preparation of any draft jurors list to be prepared by such secretary, town clerk, or clerk under this Act.

(2) There shall be entered in every draft jurors list the names of all persons who by reason of being themselves rated or by reason of their wives being rated for the relief of the poor in respect of land in the county, borough, or district to which the list relates are qualified and liable to serve as jurors and are not exempt or disqualified from so serving, and there shall also be entered in every draft jurors list the last known place of abode and the trade, profession, calling, or description of every person whose name is entered in such list and also the situation, description, and rateable value of the land in respect of which such person is so qualified and liable.

(3) Whenever the person preparing a draft jurors list is uncertain for any reason whether the name of any particular person should or should not be entered in such list, he shall enter such name in such list together with a statement of such uncertainty and the reason therefor.

(4) The names entered in the draft jurors list, for any county, county or other borough, or urban district shall be entered and arranged in such list in the like manner and order as the names entered in the electors lists for such county, borough, or district are required by the law for the time being in force to be entered and arranged in those lists.

15 Revision and settlement of draft jurors lists.

15.—(1) On or before the 1st day of June, 1927, every county registrar shall revise and settle the last general lists of jurors for the registration area of which he is registration officer furnished to him under the Juries Acts, 1871 to 1924, and in so revising and settling such lists shall omit therefrom the names of all persons who by virtue of this Act or any order made thereunder before the said 1st day of June, 1927, are not qualified and liable to serve as jurors or are disqualified for or exempt from so serving and shall so settle such lists that (save in respect of the said omissions and the insertion of the names and other particulars of those exempted persons who become entitled under this Act to have their names inserted therein) the same are in accordance with the register of electors for the said registration area required to be published by him on or before the said 1st day of June, 1927, and (save as aforesaid) contain the name of every person who is entered in such register of electors as qualified and liable for and not disqualified for or exempt from service as a juror and the name of no other person.

(2) The general lists of jurors for any registration area when settled in accordance with the foregoing sub-section shall (subject to any alterations subsequently made therein under this Act) be the jurors list in force for the purposes of this Act for such registration area for one year from the said 1st day of June, 1927.

(3) On or before the 1st day of June in the year 1928 and in every subsequent year every county registrar shall revise and finally settle the draft jurors lists for the registration area of which he is the registration officer and shall so settle such lists that (save for the insertion of the names and other particulars of those exempted persons who become entitled under this Act to have their names inserted therein) the same are in accordance with the register of electors for the said registration area required to be published by him on or before the 1st day of June in the year then current and contain the name of every person who is entered in such register of electors as qualified and liable for and not disqualified for or exempt from service as a juror and the name of no other person.

(4) The draft jurors lists for any registration area when revised and settled in accordance with the foregoing sub-section shall (subject to any alterations subsequently made therein under this Act) be the jurors list in force for the purposes of this Act for such registration area for one year from the 1st day of June in the year in which such revision and settlement takes place.

16 Inclusion of certain exempted persons in jurors' lists on request.