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Juries Act (Ireland) 1871[a]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend and consolidate the Laws relating to Juries in Ireland.
Citation34 & 35 Vict. c. 65
Introduced byThomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan (Lords)
Territorial extent Ireland[b]
Dates
Royal assent14 August 1871
Commencement30 June 1872[c]
Other legislation
AmendsSee § Repealed acts
Repeals/revokesSee § Repealed acts
Amended by
  • Juries (Ireland) Act 1872
  • Juries (Ireland) Act 1873
Relates to
History of passage through Parliament
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Juries Act (Ireland) 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 65), also known as the Juries (Ireland) Act 1871,[d] is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated and amended statutes for Ireland related to juries. The act notably replaced the existing system of jury qualification based on property requirements with a new system based on poor law ratings.

Background

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In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.[1]

In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.[2] From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.[2]

By the early 19th-century, English criminal law had become increasingly intricate and difficult to navigate due to the large number of acts passed that had accumulated over many years. This complexity posed challenges for law enforcement.[3]

In 1825, the Juries Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 50) was passed, which consolidated for England and Wales statutes related to juries and repealed over 65 statutes.

In 1827, Peel's Acts were passed to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions of the criminal law, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including:

In 1828, parallel Bills for Ireland to Peel's Acts were introduced, becoming:[4]

In 1828, the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for England and Wales almost 60 related statutes. In 1829, the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 34) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for Ireland almost 60 statutes relating to the Criminal law.

In 1828, the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 74) was passed, which repealed for India offences repealed by the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27) the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31).

In 1833, the Juries (Ireland) Act 1833 was passed, which consolidated for Ireland statutes related to juries and repealed over 40 statutes.

In 1861, the Criminal Consolidation Acts were passed to consolidate and modernise the criminal law:

Passage

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The Juries (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 15 May 1871, presented by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan.[5] The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 19 May 1871, introduced by Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan.[5] During debate, Lord O'Hagan stated that the legislation was introduced in response to serious problems with the existing jury system, including:[6]

  • Outdated qualification requirements based on freeholds and leaseholds
  • Poor quality jury panels, with up to 66% of qualified persons being excluded in some counties
  • Evidence of religious discrimination (cited case from 1869 where 202 of 250 jurors were Protestants)
  • Arbitrary power of sub-sheriffs in selecting jurors, which had led to cases of justice being obstructed

Key provisions of the bill highlighted by Lord O'Hagan included:[6]

  • Replacing existing juror qualifications with a new system based on Poor Law ratings (£30 for petty jurors, £100 for special jurors)
  • Transferring jury list preparation from barony constables to Poor Law Union clerks
  • Moving jury list revision from magistrates to Revising Barristers
  • Introducing a rotation system to prevent the same individuals from being repeatedly summoned
  • Reforming the sub-sheriff's power in jury selection by implementing an alphabetical selection system

The bill was committed to a Committee of the Whole House,[5] which met and reported on 3 July 1871, with amendments.[5] The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 4 July 1871 and passed, with amendments.[5]

The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 7 July 1871.[7] The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 18 July 1871 and was committed to a Committee of the Whole House,[7] which met on 20 July 1871 and reported on 21 July 1871, with amendments.[7] The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 24 July 1871 and passed, without amendments.[7]

The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 3 August 1871.[5]

The bill was granted royal assent on 14 August 1871.[5]

Legacy

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Juries (Ireland) Act 1872[e]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend the Juries Act (Ireland), 1871.
Citation35 & 36 Vict. c. 25
Introduced byThomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan[8] (Lords)
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent27 June 1872
Commencement27 June 1872[f]
Other legislation
AmendsJuries (Ireland) Act 1871
Relates to
History of passage through Parliament
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard
Text of statute as originally enacted

No order was issued under section 52 of the act, which was required for the act to come into force.[9] In 1872, the act was amended by the Juries (Ireland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 25), which provided that the administrative parts of the act, including preparing juror lists, making juror books, and delivering them to sheriffs, would come into effect on 30 June 1872.[9] The rest of the act, including the actual selection and summoning of jurors under the new system, would began on the first day of Hilary Term 1873.[9]

By March 1873, the act faced significant criticism in Parliament, with reports raised by of illiterate and non-English speaking jurors at the Clare Spring Assizes, and concerns about questionable verdicts across multiple counties.[10] Lord O'Hagan, who had introduced the act, defended it by arguing these reports were exaggerated and explaining that the law aimed to modernise an outdated jury system by introducing rating-based qualifications instead of property requirements. However, he acknowledged potential problems and indicated the government was investigating the act's implementation.

On 31 March 1873, a select committee was appointed "to inquire and report on the working of the Irish Jury System before and since the passing of the Act 34 & 35 Vic. c. 65; and, whether any and what amendments in the Law are necessary to secure the due administration of justice."[11] The select committee published their first report on 5 May 1873, special report on 16 June 1873 and second report on 7 July 1873.[11][12]

Juries (Ireland) Act 1873[g]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to amend the Law relating to Juries in Ireland.
Citation36 & 37 Vict. c. 27
Introduced byWilliam Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington MP[11] (Commons)
Territorial extent Ireland
Dates
Royal assent16 June 1873
Commencement11 January 1875[h]
Repealed25 August 1883
Other legislation
AmendsJuries (Ireland) Act 1871
Repealed byStatute Law Revision Act 1883
Relates to
Status: Repealed
History of passage through Parliament
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1873, the act was amended by the Juries (Ireland) Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 27) to address some of these concerns.[13]

Repealed acts

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Section 4 of the act repealed 8 acts, listed in the first schedule to the act, effective from the commencement of the act.[3] Section 4 of the act also included safeguards to preserve prior actions and legal proceedings by explicitly maintaining the right to prosecute offenses committed before the act's commencement.

Citation Short title Description Extent of repeal
40 Geo. 3. c. 72 (I) Juries Act 1800 An Act for the better regulation of trials by jury in the Court of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, during term, and in the sittings after term. The whole Act, except the 7th section.
3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 91 Juries (Ireland) Act 1833 An Act for consolidating and amending the laws relative to jurors and juries in Ireland. The whole Act, except the 47th and 50th sections.
4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 8 Juries (Ireland) Act 1834 An Act to amend an Act passed in the last session for consolidating and amending the laws relative to jurors and juries in Ireland The whole Act.
2 & 3 Vict. c. 48 Juries (Ireland) Act 1839 An Act to amend two Acts of the third and fourth years of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, for consolidating and amending the laws relative to jurors and juries in Ireland. The whole Act.
3 & 4 Vict. c. 108 Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 An Act for the regulation of municipal corporations in Ireland. Section 179, so far as relates to the qualification of jurors.
8 & 9 Vict. c. 67 Juries (Ireland) Act 1845 An Act for making further regulations for more effectually securing the correctness of the jurors books in Ireland. The whole Act.
12 & 13 Vict. c. 91 Dublin, Collection of Rates Act 1849 An Act to provide for the collection of rates in the city of Dublin. Section 87 of this Act, by which the collector-general of the city of Dublin is required to make out the lists of persons liable to serve on juries .
16 & 17 Vict. c. 113 Common Law Procedure Amendment Act (Ireland) 1853 An Act to amend the procedure in the superior courts of common law in Ireland. Section 109, section 110, section 111, section 112, section 113, section 114, section 115, section 116, and section 117.
31 & 32 Vict. c. 75 Juries Act (Ireland) 1868 An Act to amend the laws relating to petit juries in Ireland. Section 4 of this Act.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Section 1.
  2. ^ Section 2.
  3. ^ Juries (Ireland) Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 25), section 2.
  4. ^ The Juries Procedure (Ireland) Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 78), section 6.
  5. ^ The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
  6. ^ The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.
  7. ^ Section 9.
  8. ^ Section 10.

References

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  1. ^ Farmer, Lindsay (2000). "Reconstructing the English Codification Debate: The Criminal Law Commissioners, 1833-45". Law and History Review. 18 (2): 397–425. doi:10.2307/744300. ISSN 0738-2480. JSTOR 744300.
  2. ^ a b Ilbert, Courtenay (1901). Legislative methods and forms. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 57. Retrieved 9 September 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b Britain, Great (1871). Compendious Abstract of Public General Acts. Proprietors of the Law Journal Reports. pp. 243–263.
  4. ^ Companion to the Almanac, Or Yearbook of General Information for ... 1835. p. 161.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lords, Great Britain Parliament House of (1871). Journals of the House of Lords. Vol. 103. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 269, 292, 321, 332, 335, 350, 382, 456, 480, 491, 532, 592, 597, 733.
  6. ^ a b "Juries (Ireland) Bill—(No 122)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 206. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 19 May 1871. col. 1031–1034.
  7. ^ a b c d Commons, Great Britain House of (1871). The Journals of the House of Commons (PDF). Vol. 126. pp. 319, 325, 339, 346, 357, 360, 366, 379, 385, 387, 422. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  8. ^ Lords, Great Britain House of (1872). The Journals of the House of Commons. Vol. ?. pp. 305, 344–346, 429, 431. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Great Britain. The Public general statutes. Harvard University. London : Printed by Eyre and Spottiswoode at the Queen's Print. Office. pp. 179–183.
  10. ^ "Juries Act (Ireland), 1871". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 214. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 6 March 1873. col. 1382–1389.
  11. ^ a b c Commons, Great Britain House of (1873). The Journals of the House of Commons (PDF). Vol. 128. pp. 127, 132, 176, 188, 217, 224, 225, 237, 248, 253, 259, 263, 266, 276, 279. 280, 335. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  12. ^ Lords, Great Britain Parliament House of (1874). Reports from Select Committees of the House of Commons, and Evidence, Communicated to the Lords. pp. 89–330.
  13. ^ Britain, Great (1873). The Public General Statutes. Eyre and Spottiswoode at the Queen's Printing Office. pp. 175–189.
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