Clause.

22. Summary determination by High Court of liability as to death duties.

23. Interpleader in Crown cases, and attachment of moneys payable by Crown.

24.

25.

Interest on judgment debts due to or by the Crown.
Abolition of relator actions.

26. Abolition of writs of extent, &c.

27. Summary recovery of small Crown debts.

28. Publication of list of Government departments. 29. Savings.

30. Interpretation.

31. Short title, commencement, application and repeal. SCHEDULE.

DRAFT ·

OF A

BILL

то

Assimilate the procedure in certain Crown pro- A.D. 1926. ceedings in the High Court to the procedure in actions between subjects, to authorise certain Crown proceedings to be brought in County Courts, to make the Crown liable to be sued in tort, to amend the law with respect to limitation of liability and salvage in the case of Crown ships, and to make other provision with respect to the enforcement of rights by or against the Crown, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

BE rice and consent of the Lords

E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty,

Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 5 as follows:

PART I.

CROWN PROCEEDINGS IN HIGH COURT AND COUNTY

COURTS.

1. Subject to the provisions of this Act, any Crown Crown pro10 proceedings in the High Court to which this Part of ceedings in this Act applies shall be instituted and proceeded with High Court. in the same manner as an action in the High Court between subjects and in accordance with the ordinary practice and procedure of the High Court in the case of 15 such an action.

1

A.D. 1926.

Crown proceedings in county courts.

9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 73

2. (1) Any Crown proceedings to which this Part of this Act applies may, subject to the provisions of this Act and to the provisions of any enactment limiting the jurisdiction of a county court whether by reference to the subject-matter of the proceedings to be brought, 5 or the amount sought to be recovered in the proceedings, or otherwise, be instituted in a county court.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, Crown proceedings in a county court shall be instituted and proceeded with in the same manner as an action in a 10 county court between subjects and in accordance with the ordinary practice and procedure of county courts in the case of such an action, and Crown proceedings may be removed from a county court into the High Court, or remitted from the High Court to a county court, in the 15 same manner as an action between subjects and in accordance with all such rules of law, enactments and rules of court as regulate the removal or remittal of such an action and the proceedings therein when so removed or remitted:

Provided that

20

(a) Where an action has been instituted against
the Crown in a county court it shall, if an
application in that behalf is made by the
Crown to the High Court and there is pro- 25
duced to the court a certificate of the
Attorney-General to the effect that the action
may involve an important question of law, or
is one the result of which may be decisive
of other cases arising out of the same matter, 30
or is for other reasons more fit to be tried
in the High Court, be removed into the High
Court, and no terms with respect to the
costs of the removal or any other costs of
the proceedings shall be imposed on the 35
Crown as a condition of making the order
for the removal; and

(b) An order for the remittal to a county court
of an action instituted by the Crown in the
High Court shall not be made without the 40
consent of the Crown; and

(c) Section eleven of the County Courts Acts, 1919,
(which makes provision with respect to costs

5

in High Court cases which could have been A.D.. 1926.
commenced in the county court), shall not
apply in the case of an action instituted by
the Crown in the High Court.

3.-(1) Proceedings under this Part of this Act by Parties to the Crown may be instituted either by the appropriate Crown proGovernment department in its own name, whether that ceedings department was or was not at the commencement of of docuthis Act authorised to sue, or by the Attorney-General.

10 (2) Proceedings under this Part of this Act against the Crown shall be brought against the AttorneyGeneral, or, in the case of a counterclaim by the defendant in proceedings instituted by a Government department, against that department.

15

20

(3) No proceedings by or against the AttorneyGeneral or a Government department shall abate or be affected by any change in the person holding the office of Attorney-General or in the person or body of persons constituting the department.

(4) In the case of proceedings against the Crown under this Part of this Act, the writ or other instrument originating the proceedings shall be served on the Solicitor for the Affairs of His Majesty's Treasury, and, subject as aforesaid, all documents required to be served on the 25 Crown for the purpose of or in connection with any proceedings under this Part of this Act shall be served on the person named on the record as solicitor for the Crown in respect of those proceedings.

and service

ments.

4. In any Crown proceedings under this Part of this Nature of 30 Act the court shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, relief which have power to make all such orders as in proceedings may be between subjects, and otherwise to give such appropriate relief as the case may require :

35

40

Provided that

(a) Where in any proceedings against the Crown
any such relief is sought as might in pro-
ceedings between subjects be granted by
way of injunction or specific performance,
the court shall not grant an injunction or
make an order for specific
order for specific performance,
but may in lieu thereof make an order
declaratory of the rights of the parties; and

granted.

(b) In any proceedings against the Crown for the recovery of land or other property the court shall not make an order for the recovery of the land or the delivery of the property, but may in lieu thereof make an order declaring 5 that the plaintiff is entitled as against the Crown to the land or property or to the possession thereof.

5.-(1) In any case in which proceedings against the Crown in the High Court are instituted by the issue of 10 a writ out of a district registry the Crown may enter an appearance, as it thinks fit, either in the district registry or in the central office of the High Court, and if an appearance is entered in the central office all steps in relation to the proceeding up to trial shall be taken at 15 the Royal Courts of Justice.

(2) The trial of any Crown proceedings in the High Court under this Part of this Act shall be held at the Royal Courts of Justice unless the court, with the consent of the Crown, otherwise directs:

Provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to prejudice the right of the Crown to demand a local venue for the trial of any proceedings in which the AttorneyGeneral has waived his right to a trial at bar.

20

(3) For the purpose of Crown proceedings in a county 25 court the Crown shall be deemed to dwell and carry on business in the Metropolitan district and not elsewhere.

The expression "the Metropolitan district" in this subsection means the district composed of the districts of the several county courts mentioned in section eighty-four 30 51 & 52 Vict. of the County Courts Act, 1888.

c. 43.

Power of the Crown to avail itself

of statutory defences.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, all such enactments and rules of court relating to appeals and stay of execution as are applicable in cases of proceedings between subjects shall apply to any Crown 35 proceedings under this Part of this Act.

6. It is hereby declared that in any proceedings under this Part of this Act against the Crown the provisions of any Act which could, if the proceedings were between subjects, be relied upon by the defendant as a 40 defence to the proceedings, whether in whole or in part, or otherwise, may be so relied upon by the Crown.