Juries Act, 1976

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PART I

Preliminary Section

Section 1

Short title.

Section 2

Interpretation.

Section 3

Expenses.

Section 4

Repeals.

PART II

Qualification and Liability for Service as a Juror

Section 5

Jury districts.

Section 6

Qualification and liability for jury service.

Section 7

Ineligibility.

Section 8

Disqualification.

Section 9

Excusal from service.

PART III

Selection and Service of Jurors

Section 10

Supply of electoral registers.

Section 11

Empanelling of jurors.

Section 12

Summoning of jurors.

Section 13

Service of jury summons.

Section 14

Summoning of jurors to make up deficiency.

Section 15

Selection of jury from panel.

Section 16

Inspection of jury panel.

Section 17

Mode of swearing a jury.

Section 18

Administration of oath to jurors.

Section 19

Forms of oaths to be taken by jurors.

Section 20

Challenges without cause shown.

Section 21

Challenges for cause shown.

Section 22

View by jury.

Section 23

Death or discharge of juror during trial.

Section 24

Discontinuance of juror's service.

Section 25

Separation of jurors during trial.

Section 26

Non-effect of appeals as to electoral register on jury service.

PART IV

General

Section 27

Administrative instructions.

Section 28

Person standing mute.

Section 29

Jury service by employees and apprentices.

Section 30

Commission de lunatico inquirendo.

Section 31

Liability to serve on coroner's jury.

Section 32

Non-application of provisions to coroners' inquests.

Section 33

Restriction of functions of sheriff.

PART V

Offences

Section 34

Failure of juror to attend court etc.

Section 35

False statements by or on behalf of juror.

Section 36

Service by ineligible or disqualified person.

Section 37

Refusal to be sworn as a juror.

FIRST SCHEDULE Persons Ineligibile and Persons Excusable as of Right

PART I

Persons Ineligible

PART II

Persons Excusable as of Right SECOND SCHEDULE Repeals Acts Referred to Children Act, 1908 1908, c. 67 Court Officers Act, 1945 1945, No. 25 Electoral Act, 1963 1963, No. 19 Interpretation Act, 1937 1937, No. 38 Oaths Act, 1888 1888, c. 46 Number 4 of 1976 JURIES ACT, 1976 AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO JURIES [2nd March, 1976] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART I

Preliminary Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Juries Act, 1976.

Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act— “county” means an administrative county; “jury summons” means a summons under section 12; “the Minister” means the Minister for Justice.

Expenses.

3.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Repeals.

4.—Each enactment mentioned in the Second Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

PART II

Qualification and Liability for Service as a Juror Jury districts.

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, each county shall be a jury district and for this purpose the county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford shall be deemed to form part of the counties of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford respectively.

Qualification and liability for jury service.

6.—Subject to the provisions of this Act, every citizen aged eighteen years or upwards and under the age of seventy years who is entered in a register of Dáil electors in a jury district shall be qualified and liable to serve as a juror for the trial of all or any issues which are for the time being triable with a jury drawn from that jury district, unless he is for the time being ineligible or disqualified for jury service.

Ineligibility.

7.—The persons specified in Part I of the First Schedule shall be ineligible for jury service.

Disqualification.

8.—A person shall be disqualified for jury service if on conviction of an offence in any part of Ireland— (a) he has at any time been sentenced to imprisonment or penal servitude for life or for a term of five years or more or to detention under section 103 of the Children Act, 1908, or under the corresponding law of Northern Ireland, or (b) he has at any time in the last ten years— (i) served any part of a sentence of imprisonment or penal servitude, being, in the case of imprisonment, a sentence for a term of at least three months, or (ii) served any part of a sentence of detention in Saint Patrick's Institution or in a corresponding institution in Northern Ireland, being a sentence for a term of at least three months.

Excusal from service.

9.—(1) A county registrar shall excuse any person whom he has summoned as a juror under this Act if— (a) that person is one of the persons specified in Part II of the First Schedule and informs the county registrar of his wish to be excused, or (b) that person shows to the satisfaction of the county registrar that he has served on a jury, or duly attended to serve on a jury, in the three years ending with the service of the summons on him, or (c) that person shows to the satisfaction of the county registrar that, at the conclusion of a trial, a judge of any court has excused him from jury service for a period that has not terminated.

PART III

Selection and Service of Jurors Supply of electoral registers.

10.—For the purpose of enabling county registrars to empanel and summon jurors, every county council and corporation of a county borough, as registration authority under section 7

Empanelling of jurors.

11.—Each county registrar, using a procedure of random or other non-discriminatory selection, shall draw up a panel of jurors for each court from the register or registers delivered to him under section 10 (omitting persons whom he knows or believes not to be qualified as jurors).

Summoning of jurors.

12.—(1) Each county registrar shall cause a written summons, in such form as the Minister may by regulations prescribe, to be served on every person whom he has selected as a juror requiring him to attend as a juror at the court in question on the day and at the time specified in the summons and thereafter at the times directed by the court.

Service of jury summons.

13.—(1) A jury summons may be sent by post or delivered by hand.

Summoning of jurors to make up deficiency.

14.—(1) If it appears to a judge of a court that a jury to try any issue before the court will or may be incomplete, the judge may require any persons (being persons qualified and liable to serve as jurors in that court) to be summoned by the county registrar in order to make up the number needed.

Selection of jury from panel.

15.—(1) The selection of persons empanelled as jurors to serve on a particular jury shall be made by balloting in open court.

Inspection of jury panel.

16.—(1) Every person shall be entitled to reasonable facilities to inspect a panel of jurors free of charge and a party to any proceedings, civil or criminal, to be tried with a jury shall be entitled to a copy free of charge on application to the county registrar.

Mode of swearing a jury.

17.—(1) When swearing a juror the registrar or other officer acting as registrar shall call out the juror's name and direct him to take the Testament in his hand and shall administer the oath to him in accordance with sections 18 and 19.

Administration of oath to jurors.

18.—(1) The ordinary manner of administering the oath shall be as follows:

The juror to be sworn shall hold the Testament in his uplifted hand and the registrar or other officer shall say to the juror the words “I swear by Almighty God that.....” followed by the appropriate form of oath provided by section 19 and the juror shall repeat after him the words so spoken by him.

Forms of oaths to be taken by jurors.

19.—(1) Whenever the issue to be tried is whether an accused person is or is not guilty of an offence, the form of oath to be administered to the jurors shall be as follows : “I will well and truly try the issue whether the accused is (or are) guilty or not guilty of the offence (or the several offences) charged in the indictment preferred against him (or her or them) and a true verdict give according to the evidence.”

Challenges without cause shown.

20.—(1) In every trial of a civil issue which is tried with a jury each party may challenge without cause shown seven jurors and no more.

Challenges for cause shown.

21.—(1) In every trial of a civil issue which is tried with a jury any party may challenge for cause shown any number of jurors.

View by jury.

22.—(1) In the trial of any issue with a jury the judge may, at any time after the jurors have been sworn and before they have given their verdict, by order direct that the jurors shall have a view of any place specified in the order which in the opinion of the judge it is expedient for the purposes of the trial that the jurors should see, and when any such order is made the judge may adjourn the trial at such stage and for such time as appears to him to be convenient for the execution of the order.

Death or discharge of juror during trial.

23.—Whenever in the course of the trial of any issue a juror dies or is discharged by the judge owing to his being incapable through illness or any other cause of continuing to act as a juror, or under section 9 (7) or 24, the jury shall, unless the judge otherwise directs or the number of jurors is thereby reduced below ten, be considered as remaining properly constituted for all the purposes of the trial and the trial shall proceed and a verdict may be found accordingly.

Discontinuance of juror's service.

24.—In any trial with a jury the judge may at any stage direct that any person summoned or sworn as a juror shall not serve, or shall not continue to serve, as a juror if the judge considers that for any stated reason it is desirable in the interests of justice that he should give that direction.

Separation of jurors during trial.

25.—In any trial with a jury the jurors may separate before considering their verdict except where the judge otherwise directs.

Non-effect of appeals as to electoral register on jury service.

26.—The qualification or liability of a person to serve as a juror shall not be affected by the fact that an appeal is pending under section 8 of the Electoral Act, 1963 (which relates to appeals regarding the register of electors).

PART IV

General Administrative instructions.

27.—With a view to securing consistency in the administration of this Act, the Minister may issue instructions to county registrars with regard to the practice and the procedure to be adopted by them in the discharge of their duties under this Act; but nothing in this section shall authorise the Minister to issue any instruction as to whether particular persons should or should not be summoned for service as jurors or, if summoned, should or should not be excused from attendance in accordance with the summons.

Person standing mute.

28.—Whenever a person charged with an offence to be tried with a jury stands mute when called upon to plead, the issue whether he is mute of malice or by the visitation of God shall be decided by the judge and, if the judge is not satisfied that he is mute by the visitation of God, the judge shall direct a plea of not guilty to be entered for him.

Jury service by employees and apprentices.

29.—(1) For the purposes of any contract of service or apprenticeship or any agreement collateral thereto (including a contract or agreement entered into before the passing of this Act), a person shall be treated as employed or apprenticed during any period when he is absent from his employment or apprenticeship in order to comply with a jury summons.

Commission de lunatico inquirendo.

30.—Whenever a panel of jurors is lawfully in attendance before a commissioner under a commission de lunatico inquirendo, then, for the purposes of this Act, the commissioner shall be deemed to be a court and also a judge of the court.

Liability to serve on coroner's jury.

31.—Every citizen of the age of eighteen years or upwards and under the age of sixty-five years residing in a coroner's district shall be qualified and liable to serve on the jury at any coroner's inquest held in that district unless he is ineligible or disqualified under this Act for jury service or is among the persons specified in Part II of the First Schedule.

Non-application of provisions to coroners' inquests.

32.—Nothing in this Act except section 31 shall apply to a coroner's inquest, and in this Act the word “jury” does not include a jury at such an inquest and the word “juror” does not include a juror serving on such a jury.

Restriction of functions of sheriff.

33.—The powers and duties conferred and imposed on a county registrar under this Act shall be exercised and performed by him notwithstanding anything in section 12 of the Court Officers Act, 1945 (which refers to the duties of sheriffs) or in any order made thereunder.

PART V

Offences Failure of juror to attend court etc.

34.—(1) Any person who, having been duly summoned as a juror, fails without reasonable excuse to attend in compliance with the summons or to attend on any day when required by the court shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

False statements by or on behalf of juror.

35.—(1) If any person who has been duly summoned as a juror makes or causes or permits to be made on his behalf a false representation to the county registrar or any person acting on his behalf, or to a judge, with the intention of evading jury service, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

Service by ineligible or disqualified person.

36.—(1) Any person who serves on a jury knowing that he is ineligible for service shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

Refusal to be sworn as a juror.

37.—Any person who, on being called upon to be sworn as a juror, refuses to be sworn in a manner authorised by this Act or otherwise by law shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

FIRST SCHEDULE Persons Ineligible and Persons Excusable as of Right Sections 7, 9, 31.

PART I

Persons Ineligible Uachtarán na h-Éireann.

Persons concerned with administration of justice Persons holding or who have at any time held any judicial office within the meaning of the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961 (No. 38).

Coroners, deputy coroners and persons appointed under section 5 (2) of the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act 1926 (No. 39) to fill the office of coroner temporarily.

The Attorney General and members of his staff.

The Director of Public Prosecutions and members of his staff.

Barristers and solicitors actually practising as such.

Solicitors' apprentices, solicitors' clerks and other persons employed on work of a legal character in solicitors' offices.

Officers attached to a court or to the President of the High Court and officers and other persons employed in any office attached to a court or attached to the President of the High Court.

Persons employed from time to time in any court for the purpose of taking a record of the proceedings of the court.

Members of the Garda Síochána.

Prison officers and other persons employed in any prison, Saint Patrick's Institution or any place provided under section 2 of the Prisons Act 1970 (No. 11) or in any place in which persons are kept in military custody pursuant to section 2 of the Prisons Act 1972 (No. 7) or in any place specified to be used as a prison under section 3 of the latter Act; chaplains and medical officers of, and members of visiting committees for, any such establishment or place.

Persons employed in the welfare service of the Department of Justice.

A person in charge of, or employed in, a forensic science laboratory.

Members of the Defence Forces Every member of the Permanent Defence Force, including the Army Nursing Service.

Every member of the Reserve Defence Force during any period during which he is in receipt of pay for any service or duty as a member of the Reserve Defence Force.

Incapable persons A person who because of insufficient capacity to read, deafness or other permanent infirmity is unfit to serve on a jury.

A person who suffers or has suffered from mental illness or mental disability and on account of that condition either— (a) is resident in a hospital or other similar institution, or (b) regularly attends for treatment by a medical practitioner.

PART II

Persons Excusable as of Right Members of either House of the Oireachtas.

Members of the Council of State.

The Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Clerk of Dáil Éireann.

The Clerk of Seanad Éireann.

A person in Holy Orders.

A regular minister of any religious denomination or community.

Vowed members of any religious order living in a monastery, convent or other religious community.

The following persons if actually practising their profession and registered (including provisionally or temporarily registered), enrolled or certified under the statutory provisions relating to that profession :

Medical practitioners;

Dentists;

Nurses;

Midwives;

Veterinary surgeons;

Pharmaceutical chemists.

A member of the staff of either House of the Oireachtas on a certificate from the Clerk of that House that it would be contrary to the public interest for the member to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Heads of Government Departments and Offices and any civil servant on a certificate from the head of his Department or Office that it would be contrary to the public interest for the civil servant to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Any civilian employed by the Minister for Defence under section 30 (1) (g) of the Defence Act 1954 (No. 18) on a certificate from the Secretary of the Department of Defence that it would be contrary to the public interest for the civilian to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Chief officers of local authorities for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1941 (No. 23), health boards established under the Health Act 1970 (No. 1) and harbour authorities within the meaning of the Harbours Act 1946 (No. 9) and any employee of a local authority, health board or harbour authority on a certificate from its chief officer that it would be contrary to the public interest for the employee to have to serve as a juror because he performs essential and urgent services of public importance that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

The head or principal teacher of the college of a university, of a school or other educational institution, and any professor, lecturer or member of the teaching staff of any such institution on a certificate from such head or principal teacher that the person concerned performs services in the institution that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Whole-time students at any such educational institution as is mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

The secretary to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and any person in the employment of the Commissioners on a certificate from the secretary that the person concerned performs services for the Commissioners that cannot reasonably be performed by another or postponed.

Masters of vessels, duly licensed pilots and duly licensed aircraft commanders.

Persons aged sixty-five years or upwards and under the age of seventy years.

SECOND SCHEDULE Repeals

Section 4.

Number and Year (1) Short Title (2) Extent of repeal (3)

(1)

(2)

In section 43, the words “or on any jury or inquest,”.

1919, c. 71 Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, 1919.

So much of section 1 as empowers a judge to order an all-male or all-female jury.

No. 23 of 1927 Juries Act, 1927.

The whole Act.

No. 27 of 1930 Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930.

Section 23 (4).

No. 48 of 1936 Courts of Justice Act, 1936.

Section 80.

No. 21 of 1940 Local Government (Dublin) (Amendment) Act, 1940.

Section 9 (3).

No. 24 of 1945 Juries Act, 1945.

The whole Act.

No. 18 of 1954 Defence Act, 1954.

Section 105.

No. 11 of 1961 Juries Act, 1961.

The whole Act.

No. 9 of 1962 Coroners Act, 1962.

Sections 42 and 59.

No. 19 of 1963 Electoral Act, 1963 .

In section 7

Sections 7 (2) (b), (6) and (8) and 8 (5).

No. 5 of 1964 Criminal Justice Act, 1964.

Section 7.

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