238
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 13

this Act, whether original or appellate, may be made by the same authority and in the same manner as rules touching the practice, procedure, fees, and costs in the said Court in the exercise of its ordinary civil jurisdiction respectively are made:

Provided that the rules under this section shall not, save as provided by this Act, extend to matters relating to the slave trade, and shall not, save as provided by this section, come into operation until they have been approved by Her Majesty in Council, but on coming into operation shall have full effect as if enacted in this Act, and any enactment inconsistent therewith shall, so far as it is so inconsistent, be repealed.

(2.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council, in approving rules made under this section, to declare that the rules so made with respect to any matters which appear to Her Majesty to be matters of detail or of local concern may be revoked, varied, or added to without the approval required by this section.

(3.) Such rules may provide for the exercise of any jurisdiction conferred by this Act by the full Court, or by any Judge or Judges thereof; and, subject to any rules, where the ordinary civil jurisdiction of the Court can in any case be exercised by a single Judge, any jurisdiction conferred by this Act may in the like case be exercised by a single Judge.

Droits of Admiralty and of the Crown.

8. (1.) Subject to the provisions of this section nothing in this Act shall alter the application of any droits of Admiralty or droits of or forfeitures to the Crown in a British possession; and such droits and forfeitures, when condemned by a Court of a British possession in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act, shall, save as is otherwise provided by any other Act, be notified, accounted for, and dealt with in such manner as the Treasury from time to time direct; and the officers of every colonial Court of Admiralty and of every other Court in a British possession exercising Admiralty jurisdiction shall obey such directions in respect of the said droits and forfeitures as may be from time to time given by the Treasury.

(2.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty the Queen in Council, by order, to direct that, subject to any conditions, exceptions, reservations, and regulations contained in the order, the said droits and forfeitures condemned by a Court in a British possession shall form part of the revenues of that possession either for ever or for such limited term or subject to such revocation as may be specified in the order.

(3.) If and so long as any of such droits or forfeitures by virtue of this or any other Act form part of the revenues of the said possession the same shall, subject to the provisions of any law for the time being applicable thereto, be notified, accounted for, and dealt with in manner directed by the Government of the possession, and the Treasury shall not have any power in relation thereto.

Power to establish a Vice-Admiralty Court.

9. (1.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty, by commission under the Great Seal, to empower the Admiralty to establish in a British possession any Vice-Admiralty Court or Courts.

(2.) Upon the establishment of a Vice-Admiralty Court in a British possession, the Admiralty, by writing under their hands and the seal of the office of Admiralty, in such form as the Admiralty direct, may appoint a Judge, Registrar, Marshal, and other officers of the Court, and may cancel any such appointment; and, in addition to any other jurisdiction of such Court, may (subject to the limits imposed by this Act or the said commission from Her Majesty) vest in such Court the whole or any part of the jurisdiction by or by virtue of this Act conferred upon any Courts of that British possession, and may vary or revoke such vesting, and while such vesting is in force the power of such last-mentioned Courts to exercise the jurisdiction so vested shall be suspended.

Provided that—

(a.) Nothing in this section shall authorise a Vice-Admiralty Court so established in India or in any British possession having a representative Legislature to exercise any jurisdiction except for some purpose relating to prize, to Her Majesty’s navy, to the slave trade, to the matters dealt with by “The Foreign Enlistment Act, 1870,” or the Pacific Islanders Protection Acts, 1872 and 1875, or to matters in which questions arise relating to treaties or conventions with foreign countries, or to international law; and

(b.) In the event of a vacancy in the office of Judge, Registrar, Marshal, or other officer of any Vice-Admiralty Court in a British possession, the Governor of that possession may appoint a fit person to fill the vacancy until an appointment to the office is made by the Admiralty.

(3.) The provisions of this Act with respect to appeals to Her Majesty in Council from Courts in British possessions in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act shall apply to appeals from Vice-Admiralty Courts, but the rules and orders made in relation to appeals from Vice-Admiralty Courts may differ from the rules made in relation to appeals from the said Courts in British possessions.

(4.) If Her Majesty at any time by commission under the Great Seal so directs, the Admiralty shall, by writing under their hands and the seal of the office of Admiralty, abolish a Vice-Admiralty Court established in any British possession under this section, and upon such abolition the jurisdiction of any colonial Court of Admiralty in that possession which was previously suspended shall be revived.

Power to appoint a Vice-Admiral.

10. Nothing in this Act shall affect any power of appointing a Vice-Admiral in and for any British possession or any place therein; and, whenever there is not a formally-appointed Vice-Admiral in a British possession or any place therein, the Governor of the possession shall be ex-officio Vice-Admiral thereof.

Exception of Channel Islands and other possessions.

11. (1.) The provisions of this Act with respect to colonial Courts of Admiralty shall not apply to the Channel Islands.

(2.) It shall be lawful for the Queen in Council, by order, to declare, with respect to any British possession which has not a representative Legislature, that the jurisdiction conferred by this Act on colonial Courts of Admiralty shall not be vested in any Court of such possession, or shall be vested only to the partial or limited extent specified in the order.

Application of Act to Courts under Foreign Jurisdiction Acts.

12. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty the Queen in Council, by order, to direct that this Act shall, subject to the conditions, exceptions, and qualifications (if any) contained in the order, apply to any Court established by Her Majesty for the exercise of jurisdiction in any place out of Her Majesty’s dominions which is named in the order as if that Court were a colonial Court of Admiralty, and to provide for carrying into effect such application.

Rules for procedure in slave-trade matters.

13. (1.) It shall be lawful for Her Majesty the Queen in Council, by order, to make rules as to the practice and procedure (including fees and costs) to be observed in and the returns to be made from colonial Courts of Admiralty and Vice-Admiralty Courts in the exercise of their jurisdiction in matters relating to the slave trade, and in and from East African Courts as defined by the Slave Trade (East African Courts) Acts, 1873 and 1879.

(2.) Except when inconsistent with such Order in Council, the rules of Court for the time being in force in a colonial Court of Admiralty or Vice-Admiralty Court shall, so far as applicable, extend to proceedings in such Court in matters relating to the slave trade.

(3.) The provisions of this Act with respect to appeals to Her Majesty in Council from Courts in British possessions in the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by this Act shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to appeals from judgments of any East African Court made or purporting to be made in exercise of the jurisdiction under the Slave Trade (East African Courts) Acts, 1873 and 1879.

Orders in Council.

14. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty in Council from time to time to make orders for the purposes authorised by this Act, and to revoke and vary such orders, and every such order while in operation shall have effect as if it were part of this Act.

Interpretation.

15. In the construction of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

The expression “representative Legislature” means, in relation to a British possession, a Legislature comprising a legislative body of which at least one-half are elected by inhabitants of the British possession:

The expression “unlimited civil jurisdiction” means civil jurisdiction unlimited as to the value of the subject-matter at issue, or as to the amount that may be claimed or recovered:

The expression “judgment” includes a decree, order, and sentence:

The expression “appeal” means any appeal, rehearing, or review; and the expression “local appeal” means an appeal to any Court inferior to Her Majesty in Council:

The expression “colonial law” means any Act, ordinance, or other law having the force of legislative enactment in a British possession, and made by any authority, other than the Imperial Parliament or Her Majesty in Council, competent to make laws for such possession.

Commencement of Act.

16. (1.) This Act shall, save as otherwise in this Act provided, come into force in every British possession on the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-one.

Provided that—