Administration of Justice Act 1970

Part I — Courts and Judges

High Court

Redistribution of business among divisions of the High Court

1

• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) In accordance with the foregoing subsections—

• (a) the enactments specified in Schedule 2 to this Act (that is to say, the said Act of 1925 and other enactments relative to the High Court, its jurisdiction, judges, divisions and business) shall be amended as shown in that Schedule; and

• (b) references in any other enactment or document to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, the President of that division, the principal probate registry, the principal (or senior) probate registrar and a probate registrar shall, so far as may be necessary to preserve the effect of the enactment or document, be construed respectively as references to the Family Division and to the President, principal registry, principal registrar and a registrar of that division.

• (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Admiralty Court

2

• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commercial Court

3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Power of judges of Commercial Court to take arbitrations

4

The Vice-Chancellor

5

Divisional Courts

6

Assizes and Central Criminal Court

Extension of power to dispense with holding of assizes

7

Sittings of Central Criminal Court

8

The Administration of Justice Act 1964 shall be deemed to have been enacted with the following paragraph in place of paragraph 14 of Schedule 1 (which Schedule relates to the constitution, jurisdiction, sittings, etc. of the Central Criminal Court):—

(14) (1) The Court may sit in more than one division simultaneously. (2) Any division of the Court may sit at any place in Greater London.

.

Court of Appeal

Constitution of criminal division and powers of single judge

9

Patents and Registered Designs Appeal Tribunals

Temporary additional judges

10

• (1) This section applies if both of the following conditions are met—

• (a) the Lord Chancellor thinks that it is expedient, having regard to the state of business pending before the Registered Designs Appeal Tribunal and after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, for a person to be appointed to sit and act as an additional judge of the Tribunal (either alone or with a judge of the High Court who is a judge of the Tribunal);

• (b) the Lord Chancellor requests the Lord Chief Justice to make such an appointment.

• (1A) The Lord Chief Justice may, after consulting the Lord Chancellor, appoint one of the following persons as mentioned in subsection (1)(a)—

• (a) a judge of the Court of Appeal;

• (b) a person who has held office as a judge of the Court of Appeal or of the High Court;

• (c) one of Her Majesty's Counsel.

• (1B) An appointment under this section is—

• (a) for such period, or

• (b) for the purpose of hearing such appeals,

as the Lord Chief Justice determines, after consulting the Lord Chancellor.

• (2) A person appointed to the Tribunal under this section shall, while sitting and acting as aforesaid, have all the jurisdiction of, but shall not otherwise be deemed to be, a judge of the Tribunal.

• (3) The Lord Chancellor may pay to a person appointed to the Tribunal under this section (other than a judge of the Court of Appeal) such remuneration as he may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service; and any such remuneration shall be included in the expenses of the Tribunal.

• (4) In this section . . . “the Registered Designs Appeal Tribunal” means the Appeal Tribunal constituted under section 28 of the Registered Designs Act 1949 as amended by section 24 of the Administration of Justice Act 1969.

• (4A) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this section.

• (5) In subsection (8) of the said section 85 and subsection (8) of the said section 28 (which confer power on the two Tribunals to make rules about procedure etc.), there shall in each case be inserted at the end of the subsection the words “including right of audience”.

Part II — Enforcement of Debt

Provisions restricting sanction of imprisonment

Restriction on power of committal under Debtors Act 1869 (c. 62)

11

The jurisdiction given by section 5 of the Debtors Act 1869 to commit to prison a person who makes default in payment of a debt, or instalment of a debt, due from him in pursuance of an order or judgment shall be exercisable only—

• (a) by the High Court in respect of a High Court maintenance order; ...

• (b) by the county court in respect of a judgmentor order which is enforceable by a court in England and Wales and is for the payment of any of the taxes, contributions premiums or liabilities specified in Schedule 4 to this Act.; and

• (c) by the family court in respect of a High Court or family court maintenance order.

Restriction on magistrates' power of committal for civil debt

12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Enforcement by attachment of earnings

Courts with power to attach earnings

13

Application for order and conditions of court's power to make it

14

• (1) The following persons may apply for an attachment of earnings order:—

• (a) the person to whom payment under the relevant adjudication is required to be made (whether directly or through an officer of any court);

• (b) where the relevant adjudication is an administration order, any one of the creditors scheduled to the order;

• (c) without prejudice to paragraph (a) above, where the application is to a magistrates' court for an order to secure maintenance payments, and there is in force an order under section 52(1) of the Act of 1952, or section 19(2) of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950, that those payments be made to the clerk of a magistrates' court, the clerk of that court;

• (d) in the following cases the debtor—

• (i) where the application is to a magistrates' court; or

• (ii) where the application is to the High Court or a county court for an order to secure maintenance payments.

• (2) An application for an attachment of earnings order to secure maintenance payments shall not be made, except by the debtor, unless at least fifteen days have elapsed since the making of the related maintenance order.

• (3) For an attachment of earnings order to be made on the application of any person other than the debtor it must appear to the court that the debtor has failed to make one or more payments required by the relevant adjudication.

• (4) Where proceedings are brought—

• (a) in the High Court or a county court for the enforcement of a maintenance order by committal under section 5 of the Debtors Act 1869 ; or

• (b) in a magistrates' court for the enforcement of a maintenance order under section 64 of the Act of 1952 (distress or committal),

then, subject to subsection (5) below, the court may make an attachment of earnings order to secure payments under the maintenance order, instead of dealing with the case under section 5 of the said Act of 1869 or, as the case may be, section 64 of the Act of 1952.

• (5) The court shall not, except on the application of the debtor, make an attachment of earnings order to secure payments under a maintenance order if it appears to it that the debtor's failure to make payments in accordance with the maintenance order is not due to his wilful refusal or culpable neglect.

• (6) Where proceedings are brought in a county court for an order of committal under section 5 of the Debtors Act 1869 in respect of a judgment debt for any of the taxes, contributions or liabilities specified in Schedule 4 to this Act, the court may, in any circumstances in which it has power to make such an order, make instead an attachment of earnings order to secure the payment of the judgment debt.

• (7) A county court shall not make an attachment of earnings order to secure the payment of a judgment debt if there is in force an order or warrant for the debtor's committal, under section 5 of the Debtors Act 1869, in respect of that debt; but in any such case the court may discharge the order or warrant with a view to making an attachment of earnings order instead.

• (8) Where a county court makes an administration order in respect of a debtor's estate, it may also make an attachment of earnings order to secure the payments required by the administration order; and at any time when an administration order is in force a county court may (with or without an application) make an attachment of earnings order to secure the payments required by the administration order, if it appears to the court that the debtor has failed to make any such payment.

• (9) The power of a county court under subsection (8) above to make an attachment of earnings order to secure the payments required by an administration order shall, where the debtor is already subject to an attachment of earnings order to secure the payment of a judgment debt, include power to direct that the last-mentioned order shall take effect (with or without variation under section 18 of this Act) as an order to secure the payments required by the administration order.

Effect and contents of order

15

• (1) An attachment of earnings order shall be an order directed to a person who appears to the court to have the debtor in his employment and shall operate as an instruction to that person—

• (a) to make periodical deductions from the debtor's earnings in accordance with Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act; and

• (b) at such times as the order may require, or as the court may allow, to pay the amounts deducted to the collecting officer of the court, as specified in the order.

• (2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act, the relationship of employer and employee shall be treated as subsisting between two persons if one of them, as a principal and not as a servant or agent, pays to the other any sums defined as earnings by section 26 of this Act.

• (3) An attachment of earnings order shall contain prescribed particulars enabling the debtor to be identified by the employer.

• (4) Except where it is made to secure maintenance payments, the order shall specify the whole amount payable under the relevant adjudication (or so much of that amount as remains unpaid), including any relevant costs.

• (5) The order shall specify—

• (a) the normal deduction rate, that is to say, the rate (expressed as a sum of money per week, month or other period) at which the court thinks it reasonable for the debtor's earnings to be applied to meeting his liability under the relevant adjudication; and

• (b) the protected earnings rate, that is to say the rate (so expressed) below which, having regard to the debtor's resources and needs, the court thinks it reasonable that the earnings actually paid to him should not be reduced.

• (6) In the case of an order made to secure payments under a maintenance order (not being an order for the payment of a lump sum), the normal deduction rate—

• (a) shall be determined after taking account of any right or liability of the debtor to deduct income tax when making the payments ; and

• (b) shall not exceed the rate which appears to the court necessary for the purpose of—

• (i) securing payment of the sums falling due from time to time under the maintenance order, and

• (ii) securing payment within a reasonable period of any sums already due and unpaid under the maintenance order.

• (7) For the purposes of an attachment of earnings order, the collecting officer of the court shall be (subject to later variation of the order under section 18 of this Act)—

• (a) in the case of an order made by the High Court, either—

• (i) the proper officer of the High Court, or

• (ii) the registrar of such county court as the order may specify;

• (b) in the case of an order made by a county court, the registrar of that court; and

• (c) in the case of an order made by a magistrates' court,

the clerk either of that court or of another magistrates' court specified in the order.

Compliance with order by employer

16

• (1) Where an attachment of earnings order has been made, the employer shall, if he has been served with the order, comply with it; but he shall be under no liability for noncompliance before seven days have elapsed since the service.

• (2) Where a person is served with an attachment of earnings order directed to him and he has not the debtor in his employment, or the debtor subsequently ceases to be in his employment, he shall (in either case), within ten days from the date of service or, as the case may be, the cesser, give notice of that fact to the court.

• (3) Part II of Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the priority to be accorded as between two or more attachment of earnings orders directed to a person in respect of the same debtor.

• (4) On any occasion when the employer makes, in compliance with the order, a deduction from the debtor's earnings—

• (a) he shall be entitled to deduct, in addition, one shilling or such other sum as may be prescribed by order made by the Lord Chancellor towards his clerical and administrative costs; and

• (b) he shall give to the debtor a statement in writing of the total amount of the deduction.

As from the appointed day for the purposes of the Decimal Currency Act 1969, paragraph (a) of this subsection shall have effect with the substitution for " one shilling " of " five new pence ".

• (5) An order of the Lord Chancellor under subsection (4) (a) above—

• (a) may prescribe different sums in relation to different classes of cases;

• (b) may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made under that paragraph ; and

• (c) shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment by resolution of either House of Parliament.

Interrelation with alternative remedies open to creditor

17

• (1) Where an attachment of earnings order has been made to secure maintenance payments, no order or warrant of commitment shall be issued in consequence of any proceedings for the enforcement of the related maintenance order begun before the making of the attachment of earnings order.

• (2) Where a county court has made an attachment of earnings order to secure the payment of a judgment debt—

• (a) no order or warrant of commitment shall be issued in consequence of any proceedings for the enforcement of the debt begun before the making of the attachment of earnings order; and

• (b) so long as the order is in force no execution for the recovery of the debt shall issue against any property of the debtor without the leave of the county court.

• (3) An attachment of earnings order made to secure the payment of a judgment debt shall cease to have effect on the making of an order of commitment or the issue of a warrant of commitment for the enforcement of the debt.

• (4) An attachment of earnings order made to secure any payment specified in section 13 (4) (6) or (c) of this Act shall cease to have effect on the issue of a warrant committing the debtor to prison for default in making that payment.

• (5) Where an attachment of earnings order ceases to have effect under this section, the proper officer of the prescribed court shall give notice of the cessation to the person to whom the order was directed.

Variation, lapse and discharge of orders

18

• (1) The court may make an order discharging or varying an attachment of earnings order.

• (2) Where an order is varied, the employer shall, if he has been served with notice of the variation, comply with the order as varied; but he shall be under no liability for noncompliance before seven days have elapsed since the service.

• (3) Rules of court may make provision—

• (a) as to the circumstances in which an attachment of earnings order may be varied or discharged by the court of its own motion;

• (b) in the case of an attachment of earnings order made by a magistrates' court, for enabling a single justice, on an application made by the debtor on the ground of a material change in his resources and needs since the order was made or last varied, to vary the order for a period of not more than four weeks by an increase of the protected earnings rate ;

• (c) excluding, in the case of any such application as is referred to in paragraph (b) above, the operation of section 20(2) of the Act of 1958 (which requires applications to be made by complaint).

This subsection is without prejudice to any other power to make rules of court.

• (4) Where an attachment of earnings order has been made and the person to whom it is directed ceases to have the debtor in his employment, the order shall lapse (except as respects deduction from earnings paid after the cesser and payment to the collecting officer of amounts deducted at any time) and be of no effect unless and until the court again directs it to a person (whether the same as before or another) who appears to the court to have the debtor in his employment.

• (5) The lapse of an order under subsection (4) above shall not prevent its being treated as remaining in force for other purposes.

• (6) Where an attachment of earnings order—

• (a) ceases to have effect under section 9(2) of the Act of 1958 (registration of related maintenance order, committal of debtor for arrears, etc.) or under section 17 of this Act; or

• (b) is discharged under this section,

the person to whom the order has been directed shall not incur any liability in consequence of his treating the order as still in force at any time before the expiration of seven days from the date when the notice required by the said section 9(2) or section 17 or, as the case may be, a copy of the discharging order is served on him.