Juries Act (Ireland) 1871

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book. In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1825, the Juries Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 50) was passed, which consolidated for England and Wales statutes related to juries and repealed over 65 statutes. In 1827, Peel's Acts were passed to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions of the criminal law, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including: • Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27), which repealed for England and Wales over 140 enactments relating to the criminal law. • Criminal Law Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. • Larceny Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to larceny. • Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 30), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious injuries to property. In 1828, parallel bills for Ireland to Peel's Acts were introduced, becoming: • Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. 54), which repealed for Ireland over 140 enactments relating to the criminal law. • Criminal Law (Ireland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. 54), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. • Larceny (Ireland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 55) which consolidated provisions in the law relating to larceny. • Malicious Injuries to Property (Ireland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 56), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious injuries to property. In 1828, the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for England and Wales almost 60 related enactments. In 1829, the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 34) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for Ireland almost 60 enactments relating to the Criminal law. In 1828, the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 74) was passed, which repealed for India offences repealed by the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27) the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31). In 1833, the Juries (Ireland) Act 1833 was passed, which consolidated for Ireland statutes related to juries and repealed over 40 enactments. In 1861, the Criminal Consolidation Acts were passed to consolidate and modernise the criminal law: • Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 94), which modernised provisions in the law relating to Aiding and abetting. • Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 95), which repealed for England and Wales and Ireland over 100 enactments relating to the criminal law. • Larceny Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 96), which modernised provisions in the law relating to larceny. • Malicious Damage Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 97), which modernised provisions in the law relating to malicious injury to property. • Forgery Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 98), which modernised provisions in the law relating to forgery. • Coinage Offences Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 99), which modernised provisions in the law relating to coinage. • Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100), which modernised provisions in the law relating to offences against the person. == Passage ==

The Juries (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 15 May 1871, presented by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 19 May 1871, introduced by Thomas O'Hagan, 1st Baron O'Hagan. • Outdated qualification requirements based on freeholds and leaseholds • Poor quality jury panels, with up to 66% of qualified persons being excluded in some counties • Evidence of religious discrimination (cited case from 1869 where 202 of 250 jurors were Protestants) • Arbitrary power of sub-sheriffs in selecting jurors, which had led to cases of justice being obstructed Key provisions of the bill highlighted by Lord O'Hagan included: The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 18 July 1871 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 20 July 1871 and reported on 21 July 1871, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 24 July 1871 and passed, without amendments. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 3 August 1871. The bill was granted royal assent on 14 August 1871. == Subsequent developments ==

No order was issued under section 52 of the act, which was required for the act to come into force. In 1872, the act was amended by the '''''' (35 & 36 Vict. c. 25), which provided that the administrative parts of the act, including preparing juror lists, making juror books, and delivering them to sheriffs, would come into effect on 30 June 1872. Lord O'Hagan, who had introduced the act, defended it by arguing these reports were exaggerated and explaining that the law aimed to modernise an outdated jury system by introducing rating-based qualifications instead of property requirements. However, he acknowledged potential problems and indicated the government was investigating the act's implementation. On 31 March 1873, a select committee was appointed "to inquire and report on the working of the Irish Jury System before and since the passing of the Act 34 & 35 Vic. c. 65; and, whether any and what amendments in the Law are necessary to secure the due administration of justice." The select committee published their first report on 5 May 1873, special report on 16 June 1873 and second report on 7 July 1873. In 1873, the act was amended by the '''''' (36 & 37 Vict. c. 27) to address some of these concerns. == Repealed enactments ==

Section 4 of the act repealed 8 enactments, listed in the first schedule to the act, effective from the commencement of the act. Section 4 of the act also included safeguards to preserve prior actions and legal proceedings by explicitly maintaining the right to prosecute offenses committed before the act's commencement. == See also ==