Otago Provincial Gazette – 1863 – No. 276

Page 506

✨ Vice-Admiralty Courts Act Explanation



506

in the registry of the High Court of Admiralty and of Appeals within the time, unless Her Majesty in Council shall, on the report and recommendation of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, be pleased to allow the appeal to be prosecuted, notwithstanding that the petition of appeal has not been lodged within the time prescribed.

Acts repealed. Saving Rules established under 2 & 3 W. 4, c. 51.

  1. The Acts enumerated in the schedule hereto annexed, marked B, are hereby repealed to the extent therein mentioned, but the repeal thereof shall not affect the validity of any rules, orders, regulations, or tables of fees heretofore established and now in force, in pursuance of the Act of the Second and Third William the Fourth, Chapter Fifty-one; but such rules, orders, regulations, and tables of fees shall continue in force until repealed or altered under the provisions of this Act.

SCHEDULE A.

List of the existing Vice-Admiralty Courts to which this Act applies.

Antigua
Bahamas
Barbadoes
Bermuda
British Columbia
British Guiana
British Honduras
Cape of Good Hope
Ceylon
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Gambia River
Gibraltar
Gold Coast
Grenada
Hong Kong
Jamaica
Lagos
Lower Canada, otherwise Quebec
Malta
Mauritius
Montserrat
Natal

Nevis
New Brunswick
Newfoundland
New South Wales
New Zealand
Nova Scotia, otherwise Halifax
Prince Edward Island
Queensland
Saint Christopher
Saint Helena
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent
Sierra Leone
South Australia
Tasmania, formerly called Van Diemen’s Land
Labuan
Tobago
Trinidad
Vancouver’s Island
Victoria
Virgin Islands, otherwise Tortola
Western Australia

SCHEDULE B.

ACTS AND PARTS OF ACTS REPEALED.

Reference to Act. Title of Act. Extent of Repeal.
56 Geo. III. c. 82 An Act to render valid the Judicial Acts of Surrogates of Vice-Admiralty Courts abroad, during vacancies in office of Judges of such Courts. The whole Act, save as regards Her Majesty’s possessions in India.
5 Geo. IV. c. 113 An Act to amend and consolidate the laws relating to the Abolition of the slave trade. Section 29, save as above.
2 and 3 Will. IV. c. 51 An Act to regulate the practice and the fees in the Vice-Admiralty Courts abroad, and to obviate doubts as to their jurisdiction. The whole Act, save as above.
6 and 7 Vict. c. 38 An Act to make further regulations for facilitating the hearing appeals and other matters by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Section 11, so far as it relates to appeals from Vice-Admiralty Courts, save as above.
17 and 18 Vict. c. 37 An Act for establishing the validity of certain proceedings in Her Majesty’s Court of Vice-Admiralty in Mauritius. The whole Act.

Vice-Admiralty Courts Act, 1863.

Explanation of the Provisions of the Act.

Section 2.

The definitions in this Section are merely to avoid repetition.

Section 3.

Hitherto, on a vacancy occurring in the Office of Vice-Admiral, the Governor of the Colony has been appointed as a matter of course. This section is intended to obviate the necessity of a new Appointment of a Vice-Admiral being issued on every change of Governor.

Section 4.

The Object of this Section is to obviate the delay which has occurred in filling up any Vacancy in the Office of Judge, owing to the necessity which existed of the Appointment being made by the Admiralty in England. In distant Colonies even if no time were lost in notifying the Vacancy to the Admiralty, many months unavoidably intervened before a new Judge could be appointed. In the meantime either the proceedings of the Court were suspended, or if carried on were of doubtful validity, and thus, where Foreign Vessels have been adjudicated upon, serious difficulties might arise.

Again, since the business of the Vice-Admiralty Courts is ordinarily not sufficient, in time of Peace, to remunerate a Judge who does not hold some other more lucrative Appointment, it has been the constant practice for the Governor of the Colony, on a vacancy in the Office of Judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court, to recom-



Next Page →



Online Sources for this page:

VUW Te Waharoa — PDF Otago Provincial Gazette 1863, No 276




✨ LLM interpretation of page content

🏛️ Detailed statement of the reasons for the various clauses of the Vice-Admiralty Courts Act (continued from previous page)

🏛️ Governance & Central Administration
30 June 1863
Vice-Admiralty Courts, Act of Parliament, Clauses, Statement