Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978

31 Remittal and removal of proceedings. U.K.

(1) The High Court may in accordance with rules of court at any stage remit to a county court the whole or any part of any civil proceedings to which this subsection applies if—

(a) the parties consent to the remittal thereof;

(b) the court is satisfied upon the application of any party to proceedings involving an unliquidated claim that the full amount of that claim is likely to be within the monetary limit of the jurisdiction of the county court;

(c) the court is satisfied, whether upon the application of any party or otherwise, that the subject matter of the proceedings (not being an unliquidated claim) is or is likely to be within the limits of the jurisdiction of the county court; or

(d) the claimant abandons the right to recover any amount in excess of the monetary limit of the jurisdiction of the county court,

and in any such case the court is of the opinion that in all the circumstances the proceedings may properly be heard and determined in the county court.

(2) Subsection (1) applies to civil proceedings commenced in the High Court of a kind which the county court would, apart from any limitation by reason of amount or value or annual value, have jurisdiction to hear and determine if commenced in that court.

(3) Proceedings remitted under this section shall be remitted to such county court as the High Court may specify, being either a county court in which the proceedings could, apart from any limitation by reason of amount or value or annual value, have been commenced or, with the concurrence of the parties, any other county court appearing to the High Court to be convenient.

(4) Where proceedings are remitted to a county court under this section, the county court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine those proceedings and—

(a) the county court shall have the like jurisdiction as the High Court as to the giving of any relief claimed, including (but without prejudice to the generality of this provision) the amount of damages that may be awarded; and

(b) the parties to the proceedings shall have the like right of appeal as if the proceedings had been commenced in the county court.

(5) The High Court may in accordance with rules of court at any stage remove to that court from a county court and hear and determine the whole or any part of any civil proceedings which could have been commenced in the High Court but have been commenced in that county court if—

(a) the parties consent to the removal thereof; or

(b) on the application of any party the court is satisfied that there is a triable issue,

and in either such case the court is of opinion that, by reason of the nature of the proceedings, the amount of the claim or the value or annual value of the subject matter, the proceedings are not within the jurisdiction of the county court or that the proceedings could in all the circumstances be more appropriately heard and determined in the High Court.

(6) The High Court may require any party on whose application any proceedings are removed to that court to give security of such nature and amount as that court may by order direct.

(7) This section shall not apply to the following proceedings, namely—

(a) applications for adoption orders (including provisional adoption orders);

(b) applications under section 17 of the M1 Married Women’s Property Act 1882 [F1 or section 191 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004];

(c) proceedings under section 57 of the M2 Trustee Act (Northern Ireland) 1958;

(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

(8) This section shall apply to proceedings by and against the Crown, but—

(a) in its application to proceedings against the Crown this section shall have effect subject to the provisions of section 20(2) of the M3 Crown Proceedings Act 1947 as they extend to Northern Ireland;

(b) nothing in subsection (6) shall have effect so as to require or to authorise the making of an order requiring security to be given by the Crown;

(c) no proceedings by the Crown shall be remitted to a county court without the consent of the Crown;

(d) nothing in this section shall apply to proceedings affecting Her Majesty in Her private capacity.

(9) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the amount of a claim shall be taken as the amount remaining in dispute after allowance has been made for any payment, set off or other amount admitted by tender or otherwise to be due and after any abandonment by the claimant of any amount by which the sum claimed exceeds the monetary limit of the jurisdiction of the county court;

(b) the full amount of an unliquidated claim shall be taken as the amount which would be recoverable if no deduction were made in respect of the claimant’s own fault;

(c) in determining whether an amount exceeds the monetary limit of the jurisdiction of the county court, no account shall be taken of any power exercisable by virtue of [F3 Article 45A of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980] or of any order made in the exercise of such a power;

(d) “proceedings” includes proceedings on a counterclaim; and

(e) “the Crown” includes the Crown in right of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and in right of Her Majesty’s Government in Northern Ireland.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 31(7)(b) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c. 33), ss. 261(3), 263(10)(d), Sch. 29 para. 24; S.I. 2005/3255, art. 2(2)

F2 S. 31(7)(d) repealed by S.I. 1982/1080 (N.I. 12), art. 1(2), 46(3), Sch. 9 but by S.Rs. 1984 No. 422 and 1989 No. 47 the repeal came into operation in relation to the Pigs Marketing Board (Northern Ireland) on 31.12.1984 and in relation to the Milk Marketing Board for Northern Ireland on 1.4.1989 respectively

F3 Words substituted by Administration of Justice Act 1982 (c. 53, SIF 38), s. 69, Sch. 7 Pt. III para. 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1882 c. 75.

M2 1958 c. 23 (N.I)

M3 1947 c. 44.