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Clause 13—(Rules Of Court)

Volume 465: debated on Tuesday 31 May 1949

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Amendments made: In page 13, line 38, after "expenses," insert "or any agreement as to expenses."—[ The Lord Advocate.]

In page 14, line 4, leave out from "therein," to "and," in line 7.—[ Mr. Woodburn.]

I beg to move, in page 14, line 22, at the end, to insert:

"(5) The powers conferred by this section on the Court shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and the Statutory Instruments Act, 1946, shall apply to a statutory instrument containing rules of court made under this section by the Court in like manner as if the rules had been made by a Minister of the Crown."
The object of this Amendment is to make it possible for the rules of court which will be made by act of sederunt and act of adjournal to be published by the Stationery Office among its publications so as to be as generally available as it is possible to make them. To do this we have to make the provision in this Amendment that they will be Statutory Instruments within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act of 1946. To conform with the rules we have to provide that such rules of court made under this Clause by the court will be made in like manner as if the rules had been made by a Minister of the Crown. This is to bring into operation the Statutory Instruments Act of 1946. There are a number of precedents for this course. It does not mean, however, that these rules of court will be subject to Parliamentary approval or procedure. It is merely an expedient to get them reproduced among the Statutory Instruments for statutory purposes.

I was rather mystified, as a layman, in trying to interpret this Amendment. I had a horrid vision of the possibility of this House having a whole bunch of rules made by act of sederunt and act of adjournal shot at it to be prayed against for annulment. But it seems that the point which the Lord Advocate has in mind is applicable only to printing services.

Amendment agreed to.