be entitled to hold the said office so long as he shall continue to be a judge of the supreme court. V. [When a case is heard by two judges and they differ, the case is to be suspended until three judges shall be present.] VI. From and after the taking effect of this Act there shall be in this Colony a court of appeal, to be called "The Court of Appeal of the Cape of Good Hope." VII. The said court of appeal shall be a superior court of record, and shall consist of the chief justice of the Cape of Good Hope, the judge president of the eastern districts court, and two other puisne judges of the supreme court, who shall be thereto duly assigned and appointed by the Governor, acting by and with the advice of the executive council. VIII. Every judge who shall be appointed to the office of judge of the court of appeal shall hold such office so long as he shall continue to be a judge of the supreme court. XI. It shall be lawful for any person being a party to any civil suit in the eastern districts court, or in any circuit court, to appeal to the said court of appeal against any judgment, decree, or order of such eastern districts court or circuit court; XII. The forty-second and forty-third sections of the charter of justice, and the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth sections of Act No. 21 of 1864 are hereby repealed. XVIII. [Judges of appeal court to frame rules for that court.] XX. An appeal to Her Majesty the Queen shall be allowed by such court of appeal against any final judgment, decree, or order thereof in any civil suit or action in which an appeal is now allowed, and the fiftieth, fifty-first, and fifty-second sections of the charter of justice shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to every appeal from the said court of appeal, precisely as if such court of appeal were the supreme court in the said charter mentioned. XXII. The judges of the said court of appeal, or any three of them, shall likewise constitute a court of appeal in criminal cases, and appeals shall be allowed to the said court of appeal [in certain specified instances]. XXIX. This Act shall take effect when and so soon as the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, shall, by proclamation published in the Government Gazette, declare that the same is in force. XXX. This Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Administration of Justice Amendment Act, 1879." P.R.O., C.O. 50/6. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN GRIQUALAND WEST. No. 12 of 1880.1 No. 84. Act. To amend in certain respects Act No. 39 of 1877 and Act No. 5 of 1879. [Assented to 29th July 1880.] WHEREAS it was provided by Act No. 39 of 1877 that, from and after the annexation of the province of Griqualand West to the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, the supreme court of the said colony shall consist of one chief justice and five puisne judges, the recorder of Griqualand West being one of them and whereas it was further provided by the said Act that appeals from the decisions of the high court of Griqualand West, or of any circuit court within the said province, shall be made in the first instance to the supreme court of this colony, and that appeals from the land court of Griqualand West may, by consent of parties, be removed into the said supreme court: and whereas by the subsequent Act No. 5 of 1879, it was provided that the supreme court shall consist of one chief justice and five puisne judges, the said recorder not being included among the said five judges: and whereas by the said last-mentioned Act, a court of appeal in criminal as well as in civil cases was established in respect of decisions of the eastern districts court, and from the circuit courts of this colony, and certain provisions were made in respect of the mode of procedure to regulate such appeals: and whereas it is expedient in view of the future annexation of the said province to the said colony that the said firstmentioned Act should be amended in such a manner as to provide one and the same court of appeal for the united colony, to render the mode of procedure in all appeals uniform, and in other respects to make the provisions of the firstmentioned Act consistent with Act No. 5 of 1879 Be it enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly thereof, as follows: I. So much of the Royal Letters Patent, commonly called the "Charter of Justice," of the Act No. 39 of 1877, of the Act No. 5 of 1879, and of any other law in force in this colony at the time of the taking effect of this Act, as shall be repugnant to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall be, and the same is hereby repealed. II. From and after the annexation of the said province to the said colony, the supreme court of the said colony shall 1 Repealed by Act No. 35 of 1896, which gave to the Eastern Districts Court jurisdiction over all causes arising in Griqualand West. consist of one chief justice and six puisne judges instead of five as heretofore, the additional judge being the recorder for the time being of Griqualand West. III. In lieu of any right of appeal which may, under and by virtue of the 10th and 11th sections of the said Act No. 39 of 1877, exist at the time of such annexation as aforesaid to the supreme court of this colony, such appeal shall be made, in the first instance to the court of appeal of this colony instead of the said supreme court, and all and singular the provisions of the said Act No. 5 of 1879, contained in the sections numbered eleven to twenty-nine inclusive, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the said high court, precisely as if the said high court had been therein mentioned instead of the eastern districts court. [Etc.] P.R.O., C.O. 50/6. MARRIAGE LICENSES. [14 June 1882.] No. 9 of 1882. No. 85. Act. To regulate the Issue of Licenses for the Solemnization of Marriages, and to Abolish Matrimonial Courts. II. [Courts of Resident Magistrates substituted for Matrimonial Courts.] III. [Magistrates may grant marriage licenses.] [Etc.] P.R.O., C.O. 50/7. THE DUTCH LANGUAGE IN THE COURTS OF LAW. [Promulgated 25th July 1884.] No. 21 of 1884. No. 86. Act. To sanction the use of the Dutch Language equally with the English in Courts of Justice. WHEREAS it is expedient to afford facilities for the use of the Dutch language equally with the English in courts of justice and in legal proceedings: Be it therefore enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly thereof, as follows: I. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Charter of Justice or in the Act No. 20 of 1856, or in any other statutory enactment having the force of law in the colony, the judges of the superior courts of justice may, and resident magistrates, special justices of the peace, and field-cornets shall, allow the use of the Dutch language equally with the English language at the hearing of any suits, cases, or enquiries, civil or criminal, in their respective courts when requested so to do by any of the parties to such suits or other proceedings; and upon such allowance it shall be lawful for either of the parties to such suits, cases, or other proceedings, or their respective counsel, attorneys, or agents to use either the English or Dutch language in the conduct of their cases before such courts. 2. Whenever any divisional council shall by a majority of its members, resolve at a meeting duly convened for that purpose; or whenever no fewer than one-third of the voters registered for parliamentary elections in any division shall in writing, by petition, apply to the Governor to order the issuing of summonses, notices, and documents referred to in any summons, in all suits brought in any of the courts within such division, in the Dutch as well as in the English language, it shall be lawful for the Governor in either of the cases beforementioned by proclamation in the Gazette to grant such order. 3. This Act may be cited as "The Dutch Language Judicial Use Act, 1884." No. 87. P.R.O., C.O. 50/7. THE LAW RELATING TO JURORS. Act. To amend the Law relating to Jurors. WHEREAS it is provided by the sixteenth section of Ordinance No. 84, that no person shall be put on trial on any indictment at any criminal session of the Supreme Court unless the bill of such indictment shall first have been presented to a Grand Jury, and shall have been returned by them a true bill: and whereas this provision does not extend to criminal trials other than those in the Supreme Court, and has been found in practice to be inconvenient and unnecessary in the Supreme Court and whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to giving publicity to jurors' lists: Be it enacted by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, by and with the advice of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly thereof, as follows: 1. The sixteenth and seventeenth sections of the said Ordinance No. 84 and all other laws or rules of court relating to the attendance and service of grand juries at the criminal sessions of the Supreme Court, are hereby repealed: Provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to dispense 1 Cf. "The Jury Act," No. 22 of 1891 below, and Act No. 35 of 1904, not printed. with the necessity of lists of grand jurors being made out as heretofore for the purpose of selecting juries in civil cases as provided by Act No. 30 of 1874, or to alter the law which renders grand jurors whose names appear in such list liable to serve as petty jurors in the Supreme Court. 2. So much of the seventh section of the said Ordinance as requires that a copy of the jurors' list shall annually be affixed to the principal door of every church, chapel, or other place of public worship in a certain portion of such district, shall be and is hereby repealed. 3. This Act may be cited as the "Jurors' Law Amendment Act, 1885.' P.R.O., C.O. 50/7. APPEAL COURT AND SHERIFF'S DUTIES ACT. No. 88. Act. To amend the Law relating to Appeals and Duties of the Sheriff, and to make more convenient provision regarding Legal Process in certain Cases. [Preamble.] 1. From and after the passing of this Act the Court of Appeal shall cease to exist, and all and singular the powers, duties, and authorities conferred upon the said Court of Appeal by Act No. 5 of 1879, Act No. 40 of 1882, or any other Act of Parliament, shall be vested in the Supreme Court of the Colony. 2. [Appeals to the Supreme Court to be heard before not less than three Judges, one of whom shall be the Chief Justice of the Colony.] 3. [Puisne Judges assigned to the Supreme Court to remain so.] 4. In case any appeal shall be heard before the Supreme Court against the unanimous judgment of the full Eastern Districts Court or High Court of Griqualand, such judgment shall be affirmed unless three or more of the Judges sitting in appeal shall concur in reversing or varying the same. 5. It shall be lawful for the prosecutor or defendant in any criminal suit, which shall be brought in appeal or review before the Eastern Districts Court, High Court of Griqualand, or any Circuit Court, from any inferior court, to appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgment of the said Eastern Districts Court, High Court of Griqualand, or Circuit Court, as the case may be. 1 Cf. Act No. 35 of 1896, not printed. |