Section I. Courts of Summary Jurisdiction

The summary jurisdiction of justices of the peace is the creation of statutes. Parliament has thus immeasurably extended the common law powers of justices, whilst at the same time reducing to a minimum their legal responsibility; and the steady tendency of modern legislation is towards giving enhanced importance to these courts of summary jurisdiction. It is advisable, therefore, to consider their procedure somewhat fully. It is regulated by the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952, and references in this chapter are to that Act unless otherwise stated.

This summary jurisdiction is not exclusively criminal, but extends also to a few civil cases. It may in some matters be exercised (though even in them only to a limited extent) by a single justice; but in most it is necessary to have either two ordinary justices or a stipendiary magistrate or a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate. It is subjected to a limitation of time; for the proceedings must be begun within the six months following ‘the time when the offence was committed, or the matter of complaint arose’. And for its exercise a prescribed place of meeting is now made essential, in order to secure ready access for the public. Two kinds of place are recognized.

PLACE OF MEETING

The habitual place of meeting of the justices of the locality is their ‘petty-sessional court-house’ Two justices, by sitting here, constitute themselves a ‘magistrates' court’ and such a court alone can exercise the summary jurisdiction to the full, For a single justice, wherever sitting, can only hear certain classes of case; and in them he can pass only a sentence of imprisonment of not more than fourteen days, or a fine (including costs) of not more than twenty shillings.

In counties, even the area of a single petty sessional division may be so wide as to make it convenient to provide in it subsidiary places of meeting for use in case of emergency. Such a place is called an ‘occasional court-house’. When sitting in it, even a bench of two or more justices can inflict no greater sentence than that which a single justice could, though they are not limited to his range of cases.