c. 83. 14&15 Vict. remove any such judge from his office upon an address of both houses of parliament; and the Lord Chancellor together with such two judges for the time being, appointed as aforesaid, shall form the Court of Appeal in Chancery. Power to appoint secre tary, usher and trainbearer for each judge. Precedence of judges of peal. II. It shall be lawful for her majesty, in and by such letters patent as aforesaid, or by any other letters patent under the great seal of the united kingdom, to direct that each of the judges to be appointed in pursuance of this act shall have a secretary, usher and trainbearer, to be from time to time appointed and removed by such judge at his pleasure; and the secretaries, registrars, and other officers appointed to attend the Lord Chancellor, shall attend the said Court of Appeal and the respective judges thereof as circumstances shall require and the Lord Chancellor shall direct. III. The said judges shall be styled Lords JusCourt of Ap- tices of the Court of Appeal in Chancery, and shall have rank and precedence next after the Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, and as between themselves shall have rank and precedence according to the order and time of their appoint Judges of oath. ment. IV. Every judge so appointed shall previous to peal to take his executing any of the duties of his office take the following the following oath, which the Lord Chancellor or the Master of the Rolls for the time being is hereby respectively authorized and required to administer: "I Court of Appeal to have I do solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, that I will duly and faithfully, and to the best of my skill and power, execute the office of Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal in Chancery. So help me God." V. From and after the first day of October, one the jurisdic- thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, all the jurisdiction of the High Court of Chancery in England, which is now possessed and exercised by the Lord Chancellor. Chancellor in the said Court of Chancery, and all powers, authorities and duties, as well ministerial as judicial, incident to such jurisdiction, now exercised and performed by the Lord Chancellor, shall tion now exercised by the Lord and may be had, exercised and performed by the 14&15Vict. said Court of Appeal. c. 83. now exer cellor as a may be exer peal. VI. Where under any act of parliament any Statutory jurisdiction is vested in the Lord Chancellor, or jurisdiction any power, authority or duty is to be exercised or cised by the performed by the Lord Chancellor, and under the Lord Chandirections of any act or by the usage in this behalf judge in such power, authority or duty is or ought to be Chancery exercised or performed by the Lord Chancellor, cised by the acting judicially in the said Court of Chancery, all Court of Apsuch jurisdiction, power, authority and duty, and the ministerial powers and authorities incident thereto or consequent thereupon, which are now exercised and performed by the Lord Chancellor, shall from and after the said first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, be had, exercised and performed by the said Court of Appeal. of Vice-Chan transferred to VII. From and after the first day of October, Jurisdiction one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, all the cellor in powers, authorities and jurisdiction, original and bankruptcy appellate, given and granted to the Vice-Chancellor the Court of of the said Court of Chancery, or any of them, under Appeal. the Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act, made and passed in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, or otherwise had, possessed, or exercised by the said Vice-Chancellors, or any of them, in matters of bankruptcy, shall be granted to, vested in, exercised and possessed by the said Court of Appeal; and all the provisions of the said act in relation to such appeals to such Vice-Chancellor shall be construed accordingly: provided always, that there shall not be any appeal from the decision of the said Court of Appeal to the Lord Chancellor, anything in the said Bankrupt Law Consolidation Act to the contrary notwithstanding. sit on request VIII. It shall be lawful to the said Court of Common law Appeal and the Master of the Rolls, and the Vice- judges may Chancellors, and for each of the said jurisdictions, of Lord Chanto sit, with the assistance of any judge of either of her majesty's courts of common law at Westminster, upon the request of the Lord Chancellor, if cellor. 14&15 Vict. any such common law judge shall find it convenient to attend upon such request (a). c. 83. Decision of divided, the decree, &c. (a) See 15 & 16 Vict. c. 86, s. 61, ante, p. 55. IX. The decision of the majority of the judges majority to be of the Court of Appeal shall be taken and deemed binding; if court equally to be the decision of the said court; and if the judges of the court be equally divided in opinion on any cause or matter brought before the court by way of appeal, the decree or order appealed from shall be taken and deemed to be affirmed by the Court of Appeal. appealed from to be affirmed. Decrees, &c. of the said Court of Ap peal may be from to the appealed House of Lords. One judge appointed the Lord or both judges sitting apart from the Court of X. All decisions, decrees, or orders of the Court of Appeal, including decisions in matters of bankruptcy, shall be subject to appeal to the House of Lords, in the cases and under the conditions in and under which the like decisions, decrees, or orders of the Lord Chancellor would have been subject to such appeal if this act had not been passed; but the appeal to the House of Lords in matters of bankruptcy shall be only on matters of law or equity, or on the rejection or admission of evidence, and on a special case to be approved and certified by one of the judges of the Court of Appeal hereby constituted, whose determination on the settlement of such case shall be final and conclusive. XI. All the jurisdiction, powers and authorities under this act of the said Court of Appeal may be exercised either sitting with by one only of the judges for the time being, apChancellor, pointed under this act, and the Lord Chancellor, sitting together as such Court of Appeal, or by both of the judges so appointed, sitting as such him, to form court apart from the Lord Chancellor, either in Appeal. his absence from the said Court of Chancery, or during the same time as he is sitting in such court: Lord Chan- provided always, that the Lord Chancellor shall cellor sitting and may also, while sitting alone or apart from co-ordinate such two judges, have and exercise the like jurisdiction, powers, and authorities, as well as all such Court of Ap- other jurisdiction, powers and authorities as might have been exercised by the Lord Chancellor if this act had not been passed. alone to have jurisdiction with the peal. c. 83. gulate sit business of peal. XII. The Lord Chancellor shall fix the times at 14&15 Vict. which the two judges of the said Court of Appeal, appointed under this act, or either of them, shall Lord Chansit with the Lord Chancellor, and at which such cellor to retwo judges shall sit apart from him as such Court tings and of Appeal, and also what appeals and matters now Court of Apusually heard and determined by the Lord Chancellor, and hereby made subject to the jurisdiction of the said Court of Appeal, shall be heard and determined by such court when the Lord Chancellor is sitting with the said judges to be appointed under this act, or one of them, and by such judges when sitting apart from such Lord Chancellor, and by such Lord Chancellor when sitting alone respectively, and generally may make such regulations as to him may seem proper for dividing and regulating the business of the said Court of Appeal, and for the attendance of a registrar of the said Court of Chancery at the sittings of the said Court of Appeal (b). decisions of (b) It was ordered that all petitions of appeal, appeal peti- All appeals, tions and appeal motions from decisions of the Master of the except from Rolls and the Vice-Chancellors, other than those from the Vice-Chandecisions of Sir James Lewis Knight Bruce and Lord Cran- cellor Knight worth, when Vice-Chancellors, be, until further order, set Bruce and down to be heard before the lords justices. And that all Lord Cranpetitions of appeal, and rehearing appeal petitions and appeal heard before motions already set down to be heard before the Lord Chan- the lords juscellor, from the decisions of the Master of the Rolls and the tices. Vice-Chancellors other than as aforesaid, be transferred to their lordships' list. (Order 10th March, 1852; 14 Beav. 22.) worth, to be and certain Chancellor. XIII. Nothing herein contained shall affect any Saving of the of the powers, duties, or authorities attached to the ministerial office of Lord Chancellor, or exercised by the Lord other powers Chancellor as keeper of the great seal, except the of the Lord powers, authorities, and duties which are exercised and performed by him acting as a judge in the said Court of Chancery, either by virtue of his ordinary jurisdiction or of any statute, and the ministerial powers and authorities incident thereto respectively, or affect the powers, authorities, and duties of the Lord Chancellor, under and by virtue of any ap c. 83. 14&15 Vict. pointment under the sign manual of the crown, as having the custody of the persons and estates of persons found idiot, lunatic, or of unsound mind (c), or in relation to letters patent, grants or writings passed or to be passed under the great seal of the united kingdom, or the revocation of such letters patent, grants or writings, or the powers and authorities of the Lord Chancellor in right or on behalf of her majesty as visitor of any charity or other foundation, or the powers of the Lord Chancellor of appointment to or removal from or otherwise in relation to offices in the Court of Chancery, or other offices, save as herein specially provided, or the powers of the Lord Chancellor to direct and regulate the sittings and duties of the Vice-Chancellors, or any powers of the Lord Chancellor (whether to be exercised by the Lord Chancellor alone, or with the concurrence or advice or consent of the Master of the Rolls, or of the Master of the Rolls and the Vice-Chancellors, or otherwise), to make rules or orders for regulating the practice, proceedings and business of the Court of Chancery, or the business or duties of any of the offices or officers of such court; and in all cases where the concurrence, advice, or consent of the Master of the Rolls and of one of the Vice-Chancellors, or of either of them, shall be requisite for the making of such rules or orders, the concurrence, advice, or consent of one of the judges appointed by virtue of this act, may be substituted for that of the Master of the Rolls or such Vice-Chancellor. (c) See 15 & 16 Vict. c. 87, s. 15, ante, p. 89. When a person is found by inquisition to be an idiot or lunatic, the crown alone has power to grant the custody of the idiot or lunatic and his estates by sign manual; and therefore, to save repeated applications to the crown, it has been the practice for the crown to intrust such power, by warrant under the sign manual, countersigned by the two secretaries of state, to the Lord Chancellor on his coming into office; by virtue of which warrant, and not as Chancellor, he has the ordering and disposition of the persons and estates of idiots and lunatics; and such warrant confers no jurisdiction, but only a power of administration. (In re Heli, 3 Alk. 635; 2 Ves. Jun. 27; see Shelford on Law of Lunatics, pp. 15-21, 2nd. ed.) |