Justices of the Peace Act 1991 (SA)

South Australia

Justices of the Peace Act 1991

An Act to provide for the appointment of Justices of the Peace; and for other purposes.

Contents

1Short title

3Interpretation

4Appointment of Justices

5Special Justices

6Removal of Justices from office

7Roll of Justices

8Use of abbreviation

9Holding out etc

Legislative history

Appendix—Divisional penalties and expiation fees

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:

1—Short title

This Act may be cited as the Justices of the Peace Act 1991.

3—Interpretation

In this Act—

Justice means a Justice of the Peace for South Australia, and includes a Special Justice.

Note—

For definition of divisional penalties (and divisional expiation fees) see Appendix.

4—Appointment of Justices

(1)The Governor may appoint suitable persons to be Justices.

(2)A Justice must, before exercising official powers, take the oaths required of a Justice under the Oaths Act 1936.

(3)The oaths must be taken—

(a)in open court or in chambers before a Judge of the Supreme Court or the District Court or a Magistrate; or

(b)before a commissioner for taking affidavits in the Supreme Court.

(4)The oath must be signed by the person taking it and attested by the person before whom it is taken.

5—Special Justices

(1)The Governor may, on the recommendation of the Attorney-General, appoint a Justice to be a Special Justice.

(2)The Attorney-General will not recommend the appointment of a Special Justice unless satisfied that the prospective appointee is a fit and proper person to hold the appointment by virtue of his or her knowledge and experience of the law.

(3)A Special Justice is entitled to such remuneration as may be determined by the Governor for the performance of judicial duties.

6—Removal of Justices from office

If a Justice—

(a)is mentally or physically incapable of carrying out official functions satisfactorily; or

(b)is convicted of an offence that, in the opinion of the Governor, shows the convicted person to be unfit to hold office as a Justice; or

(c)is bankrupt, or applies to take the benefit of a law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or

(d)should, in the Governor's opinion, be removed from office for any other reason,

the Governor may, by notice in the Gazette, remove the Justice from office.

7—Roll of Justices

(1)The Attorney-General will keep a Roll of Justices.

(2)The Roll will contain the names of all persons currently holding office as Justices.

(3)The names of Justices who die or are removed from office must be removed from the Roll.

8—Use of abbreviation

The letters "J.P." appearing after a signature will be taken to signify that the signatory is a Justice.

9—Holding out etc

(1)A person who is not a Justice must not—

(a)hold himself or herself out as a Justice; or

(b)permit another person to do so; or

(c)use the letters "J.P." after his or her signature.

Penalty: Division 5 fine.

(2)A person must not hold out another as a Justice unless that other person is a Justice.

Penalty: Division 5 fine.

Legislative history

Notes

•For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes.

Repeal of Act

The Justices of the Peace Act 1991 was repealed by Sch 1 cl 1 of the Justices of the Peace Act 2005 on 1.7.2006.

Principal Act

Year	No	Title	Assent	Commencement
1991	82	Justices of the Peace Act 1991	12.12.1991	6.7.1992 (Gazette 2.7.1992 p209)

Provisions amended

Entries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.

Provision	How varied	Commencement
s 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	§

Appendix—Divisional penalties and expiation fees

At the date of publication of this version divisional penalties and expiation fees are, as provided by section 28A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1915, as follows:

Division	Maximum imprisonment	Maximum fine	Expiation fee
1	15 years	$60 000	—
2	10 years	$40 000	—
3	7 years	$30 000	—
4	4 years	$15 000	—
5	2 years	$8 000	—
6	1 year	$4 000	$300
7	6 months	$2 000	$200
8	3 months	$1 000	$150
9	–	$500	$100
10	–	$200	$75
11	–	$100	$50
12	–	$50	$25

Note: This appendix is provided for convenience of reference only.