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The administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system.
In Attorney General for New South Wales v Love (1898), the appellant argued that section 24 of the Act 9 Geo 4 c 83 did not have the effect applying the Nullum Tempus Act (9 Geo 3 c 16) (1768) to New South Wales. Counsel for the appellant said that Whicker v Hume (1858) [1] decided that section 24 referred not to laws generally, but only to laws as to modes of procedure, and that the Nullum Tempus Act did not deal merely with procedure. The Lord Chancellor said that the Act 9 Geo 4 c 83 prima facie "applied the Nullum Tempus Act to the Colony in question as much as if it had re-enacted it for that Colony." He then said:
Sect. 24 of that Act provides "that all the laws and statutes in force within the realm of England at the passing of this Act" (that is to say, the year 1828) "shall be applied in the administration of justice in the courts of New South Wales," and it is sought by construction to limit the words "all laws and statutes" by introducing into the section the words "having relation to procedure" or some equivalent expression. At least that is the only intelligible mode in which the argument can be supported, because the words which do occur in the section - "in the administration of justice" - would certainly include a limitation of the time within which actions can be brought, and their Lordships are of the opinion that the language of the section cannot be limited so as to exclude the statute, which for the reasons pointed out by the learned judges were and are so important in the administration of justice in the Colony. [2]
Section 92(14) of the Constitution Act, 1867, also known as the Administration of Justice power, grants the provincial legislatures of Canada the authority to legislate on:
Section 1 of the Administration of Justice Act (RSO 1990 c A6) provides:
In this Act, "administration of justice" means the provision, maintenance and operation of,
- (a) the courts of justice of the Province of Ontario,
- (b) land registry offices,
- (c) jails, and
- (d) the offices of coroners and Crown Attorneys,
for the performance of their functions, including any functions delegated to such courts, institutions or offices or any official thereof by or under any Act; (“administration de la justice”) [3]
This provision was previously section 1 of the Administration of Justice Act (RSO 1980 c 6), [4] which was previously section 1 of Administration of Justice Act (RSO 1970 c 6), [5] which was previously section 1 of Administration of Justice Act 1968 (SO 1968 c 1) (17 Eliz 2 c 1). [6] Queen's Printer copies of the Statutes of the Province of Ontario 1968 describe this provision as "new". [7] This statute replaced the Administration of Justice Expenses Act (RSO 1960 c 5).
"Offence against the Administration of Justice" is defined by section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2010.
In England, the Administration of Justice is a prerogative of the Crown. It may be exercised only through duly-appointed judges and courts. [8]
The following matters and things pertain to the Administration of Justice: the organisation of the courts; the prerogative of justice, the prerogative of mercy, and any prerogative power to create new courts; nolle prosequi; the appointment, tenure and immunity of judges; the immunity of other participants in legal proceedings; contempt of court; the composition and availability of juries, any requirement that their verdict be unanimous, and the allowances they receive; the branches of the legal profession; and the provision of legal aid and advice. [9]
The Administration of Justice is an act which is normally associated with the carrying on of the business of government. When a government does that act, it is thereby exercising its sovereignty. It would accordingly be a violation of British sovereignty for a foreign government to do that act in British territory without authorisation. [10] Section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952 authorises foreign service courts to exercise their jurisdiction in the United Kingdom.
There are offences against the Administration of Justice. [11] [12]
For the purpose of section 54 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, the following are Administration of Justice offences:
The offence of perverting the course of justice has been referred to as "interfering with the Administration of Justice" and/or "obstructing the Administration of Justice". [14]
Section 6(c) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides that nothing in the foregoing provisions of that Act restricts liability for contempt of court in respect of conduct intended to impede or prejudice the Administration of Justice.
An Arrestable offence, other than one specified in Schedule 5 to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, was serious for the purposes of that Act if it led to, or was intended or likely to lead to, amongst other things, serious interference with the Administration of Justice. An arrestable offence which consisted of making a threat was serious for the purposes of that Act if carrying out the threat would be likely to lead to, amongst other things, serious interference with the Administration of Justice. [15]
In any legal proceedings held in public, the court may, where it appears to be necessary for avoiding a substantial risk of prejudice to the Administration of Justice in those proceedings, or in any other proceedings pending or imminent, order that the publication of any report of the proceedings, or any part of the proceedings, be postponed for such period as the court thinks necessary for that purpose. [16]
Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is exempt information if its disclosure under that Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the Administration of Justice. [17]
Roscoe Pound said: "Dissatisfaction with the administration of justice is as old as the law". [18]
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. A similar attitude toward a legislative body is termed contempt of Parliament or contempt of Congress. The verb for "to commit contempt" is contemn and a person guilty of this is a contemnor or contemner.
An indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indictable offence, an offence that requires an indictment.
Perjury is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding.
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. In most jurisdictions, such periods exist for both criminal law and civil law such as contract law and property law, though often under different names and with varying details.
A summary offence or petty offence is a violation in some common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded against summarily, without the right to a jury trial and/or indictment.
A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers.
The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. In the courts, the judiciary interpret and apply the law of Canada. Some of the courts are federal in nature, while others are provincial or territorial.
Summary jurisdiction, in the widest sense of the phrase, in English law includes the power asserted by courts of record to deal brevi manu with contempts of court without the intervention of a jury. Probably the power was originally exercisable only when the fact was notorious, i.e. done in presence of the court. But it has long been exercised as to extra curial contempts.
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with little or no variation in their phraseology. It is one of a group of Acts sometimes referred to as the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861. It was passed with the object of simplifying the law. It is essentially a revised version of an earlier consolidation act, the Offences Against the Person Act 1828, incorporating subsequent statutes.
Section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the section of the Canadian Constitution that protects a person's legal rights in criminal and penal matters. There are nine enumerated rights protected in section 11.
The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Before 1921, Northern Ireland was part of the same legal system as the rest of Ireland.
An information is a formal criminal charge which begins a criminal proceeding in the courts. The information is one of the oldest common law pleadings, and is nearly as old as the better-known indictment, with which it has always coexisted.
The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It creates the offence of conspiracy in English law. It also created offences concerned with criminal trespass in premises, made changes to sentencing, and created an offence of falsely reporting the existence of a bomb.
The Libel Act 1843, commonly known as Lord Campbell's Libel Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It enacted several important codifications of and modifications to the common law tort of libel.
Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. state laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific basis in statute.
Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets another person in the commission of a crime. It exists in a number of different countries and generally allows a court to pronounce someone guilty for aiding and abetting in a crime even if he or she is not the principal offender. The words aiding, abetting and accessory are closely used but have differences. While aiding means providing support or assistance to someone, abetting means encouraging someone else to commit a crime. Accessory is someone who in fact assists "commission of a crime committed primarily by someone else". However, some jurisdictions have merged being an accessory before the fact with aiding and abetting.
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Justices of the Peace Act 1361 is an act of the Parliament of England. The Act, although amended, remains enforceable in England and Wales as of 2022.
The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1884, also known as the Summary Jurisdiction (Repeal) Act 1884, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that clarified the Summary Jurisdiction Acts as amended by the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879 and repealed for England and Wales statutes from 1691 to 1882.
In India, the offence of contempt of court is committed when a person either disobeys a court order, or when a person says or does anything that scandalizes, prejudices, or interferes with judicial proceedings and the administration of justice. Contempt of court can be punished with imprisonment or a fine, or both.
