Act, 1924. Appoint ment of assistant registrars, clerks, and other officers of county courts. Retirement Treasury direct, and, where the salary is inclusive of any such remuneration or expenses as aforesaid, the Lord Chancellor may, if he thinks fit and subject to the consent of the Treasury, specify what part of that salary is applicable to the payment of the said remuneration or expenses. 3.-(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, the Lord Chancellor may, with the concurrence of the Treasury as to numbers and salaries, appoint in connection with any court such assistant registrars, clerks, bailiffs, ushers and messengers, and in connection with any district registry of the High Court such clerks, as he may consider necessary for carrying out the work of the court or of the district registry, respectively, and may from time to time direct what duties shall be performed by those officers respectively, and may, if he thinks fit, remove any such officer from his office. (2) No person shall be qualified to be appointed an assistant registrar unless he is a solicitor of not less than seven years' standing. (3) Where there is an assistant registrar, the Lord Chancellor may direct which of the powers and duties of the registrar are to be exercised and performed by the assistant registrar, and the assistant registrar shall, when exercising the powers or performing the duties specified in the direction, be deemed to be the registrar. (4) Where a registrar or a high-bailiff is paid a salary inclusive of the remuneration of any officers, whether the part of the salary applicable to the payment of that remuneration is specified under the last preceding section of this Act or not, those officers shall, notwithstanding anything in this section, be appointed and be removable by the registrar. (5) The Lord Chancellor may, subject to the consent of the Treasury as to numbers and salary, appoint as officers in his department such examiners and other officers as he may consider necessary for the purpose of controlling the accounts of county courts. 4.—(1) A registrar to whom this section applies and pensions shall vacate his office at the end of the completed year of registrars. of service in the course of which he attains the age of seventy-two years: Act, 1924. Provided that, where the Lord Chancellor considers it desirable in the public interest to retain any registrar in his office after he attains the age of seventy-two years, he may, with the approval of the Treasury, from time to time authorise his continuance in office up to such later age, not exceeding seventy-five years, as he thinks fit. (2) The provisions of the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1919 (in this Act referred to as "the Superannuation Acts"), shall apply to registrars to whom this section applies, subject to the following modifications: (a) The superannuation allowance on retirement (b) Section two of the Superannuation Act, 1909 9 Edw. 7. the Superannuation Act, 1914, section three of 4 & 5 Geo. 5. (c) Section ten of the Superannuation Act, 1859 22 Vict.c.26. (d) A registrar shall, for the purposes of the Super- Act, 1924. Court service to be pensionable. withstanding that he has not been admitted to (3) This section shall apply to any registrar- (b) to whom a salary has been assigned under Provided that, if a registrar who was, immediately before his appointment as registrar, an assistant registrar gives notice in the prescribed form and within the prescribed period of his desire to continue subject to the provisions of this Act relating to the retirement and pensions of persons in court service, he shall, for the purposes of retirement and pension, be deemed not to be a registrar to whom this section applies, but to be a person employed in court service. (4) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, the period of service shall be reckoned, in the case of a whole-time registrar, as from the date on which he becomes a whole-time registrar, and, in the case of any other registrar, as from the date on which the order, by virtue of which the salary was assigned to him, came into operation. (5) The provisions of this section shall apply to the registrars of the district registries of the High Court at Liverpool and Manchester as they apply to registrars of county courts, but in the case of any such district registrar who holds office at the commencement of this Act only if he gives notice in the prescribed form and within the prescribed period of his desire to accept the provisions of this section. 5.-(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, employment in court service shall, in the case of a person as respects whom a direction in that behalf is given by the Lord Chancellor with the concurrence of the Treasury, and whether the employment commenced before or after the commencement of this Act, be deemed Act, 1924. to be for all purposes employment in the civil service of the State, and if a certificate has been issued to him by the Civil Service Commissioners, allowances may be granted in his case accordingly under the Superannuation Acts: Provided that, except in so far as the Treasury may in any case direct, no account shall be taken for the purposes of this section of court service before the issue of the certificate. (2) Employment in court service shall, in relation to a person in whose case a direction has been given under this section, be deemed to be employment in a public department within the meaning of section four of the Superannuation Act, 1887, as amended by section 50 & 51 Vict. three of the Superannuation Act, 1914. (3) In the case of a person employed in court service who was appointed to his office before the commencement of this Act, any salary or remuneration received by him from any source whatsoever in respect of that office during any period of which account may be taken for the purpose of this section shall, for the purpose of authorising the grant of an allowance or a gratuity under this section, be deemed to have been paid out of moneys provided by Parliament. (4) Where a person who was employed at the commencement of this Act in court service and in whose case a direction has been given under this section is in consequence of the provisions of this section required, by reason only of his having attained any age, to retire from court service, the Treasury may, if he has been required to devote his whole time to employment in court service and if he had attained the age of fifty-five years on or before the twelfth day of May, nineteen hundred and twenty-three, grant to him by way of compensation such gratuity, not exceeding twice the amount of the salary and emoluments received by him from whatsoever source during his last year of employment, as may seem to them just. The decision of the Treasury on any question which arises as to the application of this subsection to any person or as to the amount of any gratuity thereunder shall be final. c. 67. Act, 1924. Fees in workmen's compensation proceedings. 6 Edw. 7. c. 58. Amendment of s. 59 of principal Act. Provisions as to striking out plaint, &c. Minor amendments of principal Act. (5) The provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any contract made between a registrar, a high bailiff, or a district registrar and any other person. 6.-(1) No court fee shall be payable by the workman in respect of proceedings in a court under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906. (2) Subject to the provisions of the preceding subsection, the words "without fee" in paragraph (9) of the Second Schedule to the said Act and paragraph (13) of the said schedule shall cease to have effect. 66 7.-(1) Section fifty-nine of the principal Act (which relates to ejectment actions) shall have effect as if for the words one month from the day of service of the summons" there were substituted the words "such time as may be prescribed by rules of court," and as if the following subsection were added thereto (2) The rules of court prescribing the procedure under this section may make provision for authorising any proceedings which have been brought under section one hundred and thirtyeight or one hundred and thirty-nine of this Act, but which ought to have been brought under this section, to be amended and to be continued under this section, and for the procedure on any such amendment." (2) This section shall come into operation on the first day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-four. 8. A registrar on the application of the defendant, of the hearing of which application seven clear days' notice shall be given by the defendant to the plaintiff, may order a plaint or other proceeding to be struck out on the ground that it discloses no reasonable cause of action, and shall make such order as to costs as he may think proper. From the decision of the registrar an appeal shall lie to the county court judge in chambers. 9.-(1) Section four of the principal Act (which provides for the alteration of county court districts) shall be amended as follows: (a) The powers conferred by the section shall be exercised by the Lord Chancellor by order instead of by His Majesty by Order in Council: |