Subordinate Courts Bill

“action” means a civil proceeding commenced by summons or in such other manner as may be prescribed by Rules of Court;

“commissioner for oaths” means a commissioner for oaths appointed under section 68 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1969 (Act 24 of 1969);

“Judicial Officer” means a District Judge, Magistrate, Coroner or Registrar;

“prescribed” means prescribed by Rules of Court;

“Public Prosecutor” includes a Deputy Public Prosecutor;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of the subordinate courts and includes a Deputy Registrar;

“Rules of Court” means Rules of Court made under this Act and include forms;

“seal” includes stamp.

There shall be attached to each subordinate court or a number of subordinate courts an office, under whatever name, for the purpose of carrying out the work or business in such court or courts.

Subject to such directions as may be given by the Chief Justice from time to time, the Senior District Judge shall be responsible for the apportionment of the work among the several officers in any such office.

The Senior District Judge may frame and publish a list of persons proved to his satisfaction, by evidence of general repute or otherwise, to act as touts or unauthorised advisers to suitors or other persons, and may alter and amend the list.

The Senior District Judge may, by general or special order, exclude from the precincts of the subordinate courts any person whose name is included in the list, except when such person is a party to or a witness in any proceedings in a subordinate court when he shall be allowed to remain for such time as is necessary.

No person’s name shall be included in the list until he has been heard or had an opportunity of being heard against such inclusion.

An appeal shall lie to a Judge of the Supreme Court in chambers from an order made by the Senior District Judge to include a person’s name in the list.

The decision of the Judge of the Supreme Court shall be final.

A copy of the list shall be kept hung up in the office or offices of the subordinate courts and shall be published in the Gazette.

A person whose name appears in the list of touts under section 73 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1969 (Act 24 of 1969), shall be deemed to be included in the list under this section, and vice-versa.

A subordinate court may order any document produced before it in any proceedings to be impounded.

The document which has been impounded shall not be delivered out of the custody of the court or inspected except on an order signed by a Judicial Officer.

The court that impounded the document may direct the document to be sent to the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Stamps or any other officer of the Government.

Without prejudice to any written law and rules governing the conduct and discipline of public officers, if any officer of a subordinate court is charged —

For the purpose of any such inquiry, the District Judge may summon and enforce the attendance of all necessary parties in like manner as the attendance of witnesses in any case may be enforced.

On any such inquiry the District Judge may make such order as he thinks just for the repayment of the money extorted or the due payment of the money levied, and for the payment of damages and costs, and also, if he thinks fit, may impose such fine upon the officer, not exceeding one hundred dollars for each offence, as appears to him to be adequate.

If it is found by a District Judge that any officer, while employed in carrying out his duties under this Act or Rules of Court or in exercising any of the powers thereof, has wilfully and corruptly exacted or accepted any fee or reward whatsoever, other than such fees as are for the time being allowed under this Act or Rules of Court, that officer shall, in addition to being liable for damages under subsection (3) of this section, be incapable of being an officer of the subordinate courts.

An appeal shall lie to the Chief Justice from an order made by the District Judge under this section.

The decision of the Chief Justice shall be final.

A Judicial Officer shall not be liable to be sued for any act done by him in the discharge of his judicial duty whether or not within the limits of his jurisdiction, provided that he at the time in good faith believed himself to have jurisdiction to do or order the act complained of.

No officer of a subordinate court charged with the duty of executing any writ, summons, warrant, order, notice or other mandatory process of the subordinate courts shall be liable to be sued for the execution or attempting to execute such writ, summons, warrant, order, notice or other mandatory process, or in respect of any damage caused to any property in effecting or attempting to effect execution, unless he knowingly acted in excess of the authority conferred upon him by such writ, summons, warrant, order, notice or other mandatory process of the court in question, and he shall not be deemed to have acted knowingly in excess of his authority merely by reason of the existence of a dispute as to the ownership of any property seized under any writ or order of execution.

The Rules Committee appointed under subsection (4) of this section may make Rules of Court regulating and prescribing the procedure (including the method of pleading) and the practice to be followed in the District Courts and Magistrates’ Courts in the exercise of their civil jurisdiction and any matters incidental to or relating to any such procedure or practice.

The power to make Rules of Court shall extend to all matters of procedure or practice, or matters relating to or concerning the effect or operation in law of any procedure or practice or the enforcement of judgments or orders, in any case within the cognizance of the District Courts and Magistrates’ Courts in the exercise of their civil jurisdiction as to which Rules of the Supreme Court have been or might lawfully be made for cases within the cognizance of the High Court.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the power to make Rules of Court shall extend to —

The Rules Committee shall consist of the Senior District Judge, a District Judge, and two practising advocates and solicitors to be appointed by the Chief Justice for such period as he may specify in writing.

At any meeting of the Rules Committee three members shall form a quorum.

Any Rules of Court made under this section shall be certified under the hands of the members of the Rules Committee, and submitted to the Chief Justice, who may allow or disallow or alter them.

All Rules of Court made under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.

The place in which any subordinate court is held, shall be deemed an open and public court to which the public generally may have access:Provided that the court shall have power to hear any proceedings or any part thereof in camera if the court is satisfied that it is expedient in the interests of justice, public security or propriety, or for other sufficient reason so to do.

A subordinate court may at any time order that no person shall publish the name, address or photograph of any witness in any proceedings or any part thereof or any evidence or any other thing likely to lead to the identification of any such witness; and any person who acts in contravention of any such order shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or to both such imprisonment and fine.

A District Court shall be presided over by a District Judge appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Justice.

For the purposes of the administration of this Act, the President may, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, appoint a Senior District Judge who shall have seniority over all other District Judges.

No person shall be appointed to be or to act as a District Judge unless he has been for not less than five years a qualified person as defined in section 2 of the Legal Profession Act, 1966 (Act 57 of 1966).

Any person appointed to be or to act as a District Judge shall, although the period of his appointment has expired or his appointment has been revoked, sit as a District Judge for the purpose of giving judgment or otherwise in relation to any case heard by him.

Every person appointed to be or to act as a District Judge shall be ex-officio a Magistrate.

The President may, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, appoint any fit and proper person to be a Magistrate or a Coroner.

No person shall be appointed to be or to act as a Magistrate or a Coroner unless he has been for not less than one year a qualified person as defined in section 2 of the Legal Profession Act, 1966 (Act 57 of 1966).

The President may, by warrant under his hand, appoint fit and proper persons to be Justices of the Peace.

Justices of the Peace shall have and may exercise the powers and perform the duties of a Magistrate as may be conferred on them by any written law.

There shall be appointed by the Chief Justice a Registrar and so many Deputy Registrars as may be necessary for the subordinate courts.

No person shall be appointed to be or to act as Registrar unless he is a qualified person as defined in section 2 of the Legal Profession Act, 1966:Provided that the Chief Justice may, in his discretion, appoint any person who is not a qualified person under the aforesaid Act.

The Registrar and Deputy Registrars shall be ex-officio commissioners for oaths.

All Judicial Officers and such other officers of the subordinate courts as may be required by the Chief Justice shall, before exercising the functions of their respective offices, take and subscribe the appropriate oath of office and allegiance set out in the First Schedule to this Act.

The oath referred to in subsection (1) of this section may be taken and subscribed before the Senior District Judge or a Judge of the Supreme Court.

The Senior District Judge before whom the oath is taken shall enter in the record of his court that the oath was duly administered and taken before him, and shall transmit a certified copy of such entry to the Registrar of the Supreme Court.

A District Court exercising civil jurisdiction shall be a Court of Record.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other written law which relate to the limitation of the civil jurisdiction of a District Court, a District Court shall have jurisdiction to try all civil proceedings where —

A District Court shall have jurisdiction to try any action founded on contract or tort where the debt, demand or damage claimed does not exceed five thousand dollars, whether on balance of account or otherwise.

A District Court shall have jurisdiction to try any action where the debt or demand claimed consists of a balance not exceeding five thousand dollars after a set-off of any debt or demand claimed or recoverable by the defendant from the plaintiff, being a set-off admitted by the plaintiff in the particulars of his claim or demand.

A District Court shall have jurisdiction to try any action for the recovery of any penalty, expenses, contribution or other like demand which is recoverable under any written law, if —

For the purposes of this section, the expression “penalty” shall not include a fine to which any person is liable on conviction.

Where a plaintiff has a cause of action for more than five thousand dollars in which, if it were not for more than five thousand dollars, a District Court would have jurisdiction, the plaintiff may abandon the excess, and thereupon a District Court shall have jurisdiction to try the action, so, however, that the plaintiff shall not recover in the action an amount exceeding five thousand dollars.

Where a District Court has jurisdiction to try an action by virtue of this section, the judgment of the court in the action shall be in full discharge of all demands in respect of the cause of action.

Where, in an action founded on contract or tort in a District Court, any counterclaim or set-off and counterclaim of any defendant involves a matter beyond the jurisdiction of the court, any party to the action may apply to the High Court, within such time as may be prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, for an order that the whole proceedings, or the proceedings on the counterclaim or set-off and counterclaim, be transferred to the High Court.

On any such application the High Court may, as it thinks fit, order either —

Where no application is made under subsection (1) of this section or where on such an application it is ordered that the whole proceedings be tried in the District Court, the District Court shall have jurisdiction to try the proceedings, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act.

Where an action for the recovery of immovable property is commenced in a District Court, the defendant may, within such time as may be prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, apply to the High Court for the action to be transferred to the High Court on the ground that there is a dispute as to the title of the immovable property.

On the hearing of any such application, the High Court, if satisfied that the title of the immovable property would be affected, may order that the action be transferred to the High Court.

Where no application is made under subsection (1) of this section or where such an application is made but no order is made for the transfer of the action, a District Court shall have jurisdiction to try the action notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act.

A District Court shall have jurisdiction to grant relief by way of interpleader —

If it appears to the High Court that any proceedings in the High Court by way of interpleader, in which the amount in dispute or value of the subject matter does not exceed five thousand dollars, may be more conveniently tried in a District Court, the High Court may at any time order that the proceedings be transferred to a District Court.

The High Court shall, on application made in the manner prescribed by the Rules of the Supreme Court, have the same power to issue a request or order to examine witnesses abroad for the purpose of civil proceedings in a District Court as it has for the purpose of an action or matter in the High Court.

Where such an application is made, the High Court may, if it thinks fit, order the proceedings to be transferred to the High Court.

Where an action is commenced in the High Court which could have been commenced in a District Court, then, subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the plaintiff —

For the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section, a plaintiff shall be treated as recovering the full amount recoverable in respect of his claim without regard to any deduction made in respect of contributory negligence on his part or otherwise in respect of matters not falling to be taken into account in determining whether the action could have been commenced in a District Court.

Where a plaintiff is entitled to costs on the Subordinate Courts Scale only, the Registrar of the Supreme Court shall have the same power of allowing any items of costs, as a District Judge would have had if the action had been brought in a District Court.

In any action, the High Court, if satisfied —

This section shall not apply in the case of any proceedings by the Government.

Where a judgment is given or an order is made by a District Court under which any sum of money is payable, whether by way of satisfaction of the claim or counterclaim in the proceedings or by way of costs or otherwise, the court may, as it thinks fit, order the money to be paid either —

If at any time it appears to the satisfaction of a District Court that any party to any proceedings is unable from any cause to pay any sum recovered against him (whether by way of satisfaction of the claim or counterclaim in the proceedings or by way of costs or otherwise) or any instalment thereof, the court may, in its discretion, suspend or stay any judgment or order given or made in the proceedings for such time and on such terms as the court thinks fit, and so from time to time until it appears that the cause of inability has ceased.

Where an order for payment by instalments is made, the payment shall be made into court and no execution shall issue, except with the leave of the court.

Subject to Rules of Court, a Magistrate’s Court shall have the jurisdiction and powers conferred on a District Court by sections 20, 21, 31, 32, 33 and 43 of this Act in any proceedings where the amount claimed or the value of the subject matter in dispute does not exceed one thousand dollars.

In exercising its jurisdiction under subsection (1) of this section, a Magistrate’s Court shall be subject to the same limitations and provisions as are applicable to a District Court under this Act.

The written laws set out in the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column thereof.

All courts, officers, appointments, orders, warrants, rules, regulations, seals, forms, books, records, instruments, and generally all acts of authority which originated under any of the written laws repealed by subsection (1) of this section, and were subsisting or in force immediately before the date of the coming into operation of this Act, shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act, and accordingly shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated.

All actions, matters and proceedings commenced under the Subordinate Courts Ordinance (Cap. 3) and pending or in progress on the date of the coming into operation of this Act may be continued, completed and enforced under this Act.