Act 1970 CHAPTER 31
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Administration of Justice Act 1970 CHAPTER 31 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I COURTS AND JUDGES High Court Section 1. Redistribution of business among divisions of the High Court. 2. Admiralty Court. 3. Commercial Court. 4. Power of judges of Commercial Court to take arbitrations. 5. The Vice-Chancellor. 6. Divisional Courts. Assizes and Central Criminal Court Extension of power to dispense with holding of assizes. Sittings of Central Criminal Court. Court of Appeal 9. Constitution of criminal division and powers of single judge. Patents and Registered Designs Appeal Tribunals 10. Temporary additional judges. PART II ENFORCEMENT OF DEBT Provisions restricting sanction of imprisonment 11. Restriction on power of committal under Debtors Act 1869 (c. 62). 12. Restriction on magistrates' power of committal for civil debt. Enforcement by attachment of earnings 13. Courts with power to attach earnings. 14. Application for order and conditions of court's power to make it. 15. Effect and contents of order. A ii c. 31 Administration of Justice Act 1970 Section 16. Compliance with order by employer. 17. Interrelation with alternative remedies open to creditor. 18. Variation, lapse and discharge of orders. 19. Application of sums received by collecting officer. 20. Power of court to obtain statements of earnings etc. 21. Obligation of debtor and his employers to notify changes of employment and earnings. 22. Power of court to determine whether particular payments are earnings. 23. Consolidated orders. 24. Provisions as to persons employed under the Crown. 25. Enforcement provisions. 26. Meaning of " earnings ". 27. Consequential amendments of 1958 Act. 28. Other provisions for interpretation of Part II. Supplementary 29. Extension of county court's power to make administration order. 30. Consequential and transitional provisions. PART III DISCOVERY AND RELATED PROCEDURES 31. Power of court to order disclosure, etc. of documents before commencement of proceedings. 32. Extension of existing powers of court to order disclosure of documents, inspection of property, etc. 33. Provisions supplementary to ss. 31 and 32. 34. Application of ss. 31 to 33 to county courts and High Court in Northern Ireland. 35. Application to Crown. PART IV ACTIONS BY MORTGAGEES FOR POSSESSION 36. Additional powers of court in action by mortgagee for possession of dwelling-house. 37. Exclusive jurisdiction of county court in certain mortgage actions. 38. Further provisions as to actions in county court for posses- sion of mortgaged land. 39. Interpretation of Part IV. Administration of Justice Act 1970 c. 31 iii PART V MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Section 40. Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors. 41. Recovery of costs and compensation awarded by magis- trates, assizes, quarter sessions, etc. 42. Enforcement of fines. 43. Procedure for recovery of legal aid contributions in criminal cases. 44. Interest on judgment debts. 45. Removal of limit on number of county court judges assignable to a district and of certain registrars appointed jointly. 46. Deputy county court registrar not to act as such in certain proceedings. 47. Extension of power to make rules, etc. for purposes of Rent Act 1968 (c. 23). 48. Variation in rate of payments in maintenance order regis- tered in magistrates' court. 49. Amendments relating to guardianship of minors. 50. Proof of age before magistrates. 51. Minor amendments of Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (c. 54). PART VI GENERAL 52. Financial provisions. 53. Powers of Parliament of Northern Ireland. 54. Citation, interpretation, repeals, commencement and extent. SCHEDULES : Schedule 1-High Court business assigned to Family Division. Schedule 2-Amendment of enactments consequential on section 1. Schedule 3-Application of Arbitration Act 1950 to judge-arbitrators. Schedule 4-Taxes, insurance contributions, etc. subject to special enforcement provisions in Part II. Schedule 5-Deductions by employer under attachment of earnings order. Schedule 6-Enactments providing benefits which are not to be treated as debtor's earnings. A2 iv c. 31 Administration of Justice Act 1970 Schedule 7-Provisions of Maintenance Orders Act 1958 as amended. Schedule 8-Maintenance orders for purposes of 1958 Act and Part II of this Act. Schedule 9-Enforcement of orders for costs, com- pensation, etc. Schedule 10-Enforcement by magistrates' court of legal aid contribution order. Schedule 11-Enactments repealed. Administration of Justice Act 1970 c. 31 1 ELIZABETH II 1970 CHAPTER 31 An Act to make further provision about the courts (includ- ing assizes), their business, jurisdiction and procedure; to enable a High Court judge to accept appointment as arbitrator or umpire under an arbitration agreement; to amend the law respecting the enforcement of debt and other liabilities; to amend section 106 of the Rent Act 1968; and for miscellaneous purposes connected with the administration of justice. [29th May 1970] BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:- PART I COURTS AND JUDGES High Court 1.-(1) The Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the Redistribution High Court shall be re-named the Division ; and of business Family the among principal probate registry shall be re-named the principal registry divisions of of the Family Division. the High Court. (2) There shall be assigned to the Family Division all causes and matters involving the exercise of the High Court's jurisdic- tion in proceedings specified in Schedule 1 to this Act. (3) Causes and matters involving the exercise of the High Court's Admiralty jurisdiction, or its jurisdiction as a prize court, shall be assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. A3 2 c. 31 Administration of Justice Act 1970 PART 1 (4) As respects the exercise of the High Court's probate jurisdiction- (a) non-contentious or common form probate business shall continue to be assigned to the Family Division ; and (b) all other probate business shall be assigned to the Chan- cery Division. 1925 c. 49. (5) In section 5 of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Con- solidation) Act 1925 (which enables Her Majesty, on the recom- mendation of the judges, by Order in Council to alter the number of divisions of the High Court or of puisne judges to be attached to any division) for the reference to a report or recom- mendation of the council of judges there shall be substituted a reference to a recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Family Division and the Vice-Chancellor. (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, divi- sions 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) This section is not to be taken as affecting any of the following provisions of the said Act of 1925- (a) section 55 (which provides for the distribution of busi- ness in the High Court to be regulated by rules) ; (b) section 57 (which enables the Lord Chancellor to assign or re-assign the jurisdiction of the court among divi- sions and judges) ; (c) section 58 (which provides for the assignment of causes and matters) ; (d) section 59 (which enables an action to be transferred at any stage from one division to another). (8) Notwithstanding anything in section 114(3) of the said Act of 1925 (appointment of officers attached to a division), the right of filling any vacancy in the office of the Admiralty registrar Administration of Justice Act 1970 c. 31 3 or assistant Admiralty registrar shall be vested in the Lord PART I Chancellor ; and any other officer of the Supreme Court who is to be employed in the Admiralty registry shall be appointed by the Lord Chancellor. 2.-(1) There shall be constituted, as part of the Queen's Admiralty Bench Division of the High Court, an Admiralty Court to take Court. Admiralty business, that is to say causes and matters assigned to that division and involving the exercise of the High Court's Admiralty jurisdiction, or its jurisdiction as a prize court. (2) The judges of the Admiralty Court shall be such of the puisne judges of the High Court as the Lord Chancellor may from time to time nominate to be Admiralty Judges. (3) Nothing in this section is to be taken as prejudicing provi- sions of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925 c. 49. 1925 which enable the whole jurisdiction of the High Court to be exercised by any judge of that court. (4) In section 1(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1956 1956 c. 46. (which defines the Admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court) for the words " which is for the time being assigned by rules of court to the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division " there shall be substituted the words " which is for the time being assigned by rules of court to the Queen's Bench Division and directed by the rules to be exercised by the Admiralty Court ". (5) In the Prize Act 1948- 1948 c. 9 11 14 (a) section (determination (12, - in 7(2) of form and manner of Geo. 6).