Law Courts (Maintenance of Order) Act 1928 (SA)

(Reprint No. 1)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

LAW COURTS (MAINTENANCE OF ORDER) ACT, 1928

This Act is reprint pursuant to the Acts Republication Act, 1967, and incorporates all amendments in force as at 1 October 1991.

It should be noted that the Act was not revised (for obsolete references, etc.) by the Commissioner of Statute Revision prior to the publication of this reprint.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Section

1.   Short title

1a. Arrangement

PART II
POWER OF COURT TO REFUSE TO HEAR PERSONS IN CERTAIN CASES

2.   Interpretation

3.   Power of court to refuse to hear persons in certain cases

4.   Mode of enforcing orders under this Part

5.   Saving of other powers of court

PART III
COURT ORDERLIES

6.   Interpretation

7.   Sheriff to be responsible for court orderlies

8.   Appointment of court orderlies

9.   Duties and powers of court orderlies

10.   Offences

11.   Personal immunity

12.   Court orderlies may hold other offices

13.   Regulations

LAW COURTS (MAINTENANCE OF ORDER) ACT, 1928

being

Law Courts (Maintenance of Order) Act, 1928,

No. 1881 of 1928 [Assented to 7 November 1928]

as amended by

Law Courts (Maintenance of Order) Act Amendment Act, 1983, No. 24 of 1983 [Assented to 26 May 1983]1

1. Came into operation 2 June 1983: Gaz. 2 June 1983, p. 1572.

An Act to confer upon courts of law additional powers for securing the orderly and expeditious conduct of legal proceedings therein; to provide for the appointment of court orderlies and to define their powers and duties; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Governor of the State of South Australia, with the advice and consent of the Parliament thereof, as follows:

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Law Courts (Maintenance of Order) Act, 1928.

Arrangement

1a. This Act is arranged as follows:

PART I—PRELIMINARY
PART II—POWER OF COURT TO REFUSE TO HEAR PERSONS IN CERTAIN CASES
PART III—COURT ORDERLIES.

PART II

POWER OF COURT TO REFUSE TO HEAR PERSONS IN CERTAIN CASES

Interpretation

2. In this Part the term "court" means any court, Judge, magistrate, justice, or other person before whom any legal proceedings are held or taken, including any justice or justices of the peace holding the preliminary examination in the case of an information for an indictable offence, and any coroner.

Power of court to refuse to hear persons in certain cases

3. (1) If in any proceedings before any court any person whether a legal practitioner or not, appearing for a party behaves towards the court or any member thereof, or towards any witness, in a manner which in the opinion of the court is abusive, insulting, threatening, or disrespectful, or is guilty of any persistent and unnecessary repetition or prolixity either in questioning any witness or in addressing the court, the court may refuse to hear that person any further in those proceedings.

(2) When the court refuses to hear a person as aforesaid, the court shall, unless the party for whom the person was appearing is present in court and consents to the case proceeding forthwith, adjourn the case for such reasonable time as the interests of justice require. If a court adjourns a case pursuant to this subsection it may in its discretion order that the offending person shall pay to any party prejudicially affected by the adjournment such costs of the adjournment as the court thinks just. If the offending person makes to the court a satisfactory apology for his misbehaviour the court may rescind its refusal to hear him and any order for adjournment or costs or any part of any such order; and may continue the hearing of the case.

(3) After the court has intimated to any person that it refuses to hear him further in the proceedings then before the court, that person shall not continue or attempt to continue to address the court or to question any witness in those proceedings. Any person contravening this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment for one month, or a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.

(4) The court before which an offence under subsection (3) of this section is committed may forthwith convict the person guilty of the offence either on its own view, or on the oath of some credible witness, and may issue its warrant of commitment accordingly. Every such warrant shall be good and valid in law without any written complaint or other written statement of the charge, or any other order, summons or adjudication whatever.

Mode of enforcing orders under this Part

4. (1) Where a court orders the payment of a fine or costs under this Part and there is no provision apart from this section for enforcement of the order, the fine or costs may be recovered as a debt.

(2) Proceedings under this section for enforcing payment of a fine may be taken by the Attorney-General on behalf of the Crown, and for enforcing payment of any costs, by the person entitled to be paid those costs.

Saving of other powers of court

5. The powers conferred by this Part are in addition to and not in substitution for any powers vested in any court by any other Act or at common law.

PART III

COURT ORDERLIES

Interpretation

6. In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears—

"court" means the Supreme Court of South Australia, a District Court, a local court, the Children’s Court of South Australia, a court of summary jurisdiction, or a justice conducting a preliminary examination:

"court orderly" means a court orderly appointed under this Part:
"the sheriff" means the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of sheriff under

the Supreme Court Act, 1935-1982, and includes a deputy sheriff appointed under that Act.

Sheriff to be responsible for court orderlies

7. The sheriff is responsible to the Attorney-General—

(a)	to assign court orderlies to the various courts as occasion requires;
and
(b)	to supervise the work of court orderlies.

Appointment of court orderlies

8. (1) Subject to this section, a court orderly may be appointed—

(a)	subject to and in accordance with the Public Service Act, 1967-1981;
or
(b)	by the sheriff by writing under his hand.

(2) A court orderly appointed under subsection (1)(b) shall hold office upon terms and conditions approved by the Attorney-General, and the Public Service Act, 1967-1981, shall not apply to or in relation to a person so appointed.

Duties and powers of court orderlies

9. (1) The duties of a court orderly are as follows:

(a)	to assist a court in the maintenance of order in, and about the precincts of, the court;
(b)	to assist in the production of any prisoner who is to appear before a court;
(c)	to execute or cause to be executed any process directed to him by a court;
(d)	to observe and carry out any direction of the sheriff, or of a court;
and
(e)	to perform any other duty that may be prescribed.

(2) For the purpose, or in the course, of performing his duties, a court orderly may—

(a)	remove, or cause to be removed, from a court, or the precincts of a court, any person behaving in an unlawful or disorderly manner;
(b)	keep in his custody any prisoner delivered to him for the purpose of appearing before a court;
(c)	exercise a power of arrest either upon the warrant of a court, or without such a warrant if the person to be arrested appears to have escaped from lawful custody;
(d)	upon the warrant, or at the direction, of a court, keep a person who is to appear before the court in safe custody;
(e)	give reasonable directions to persons in and about the precincts of a court;
(f)	exercise any power that a special constable appointed under the Police Regulation Act, 1952-1981, may exercise;
and
(g)	do anything else that is necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of his duties.

Offences

10. (1) A person who hinders or resists a court orderly, or a person assisting a court orderly, in the performance of his duties shall be guilty of a summary offence and liable to a penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment for three months.

(2) A court orderly may arrest any person whom he reasonably suspects of having committed an offence under subsection (1).

(3) A person who is arrested under subsection (2) shall be brought as soon as reasonably practicable before a justice to be dealt with according to law.

Personal immunity

11. (1) Subject to this section, civil liability for any wrongful or negligent act or omission of a court orderly in the course of the performance or purported performance of duties assigned to him by or under this Part shall be determined according to the law of torts.

(2) A court orderly incurs no personal liability in tort for any act or omission by him in good faith and in the course of the performance or purported performance of duties assigned to him by or under this Part.

(3) Any action or claim to which a court orderly would, but for subsection (2), be liable lies against the Crown.

Court orderlies may hold other offices

12. A person may hold office as a court orderly under this Part notwithstanding that he holds any other office under any other Act.

Regulations

13. (1) The Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by this Act, or as are necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), regulations may be made—

(a)	providing for the supervision, control and discipline of court orderlies;
(b)	providing for the training of court orderlies;
and
(c)	making any provision that may be necessary or expedient to ensure that court orderlies discharge their duties in a proper and efficient manner.

APPENDIX

Legislative History

Legislative history prior to 3 February 1976 appears in marginal notes and footnotes included in the consolidation of this

Act contained in Volume 5 of The Public General Acts of South Australia 1837-1975 at page 615.

Long title:	amended by 24, 1983, s. 3
Heading preceding section 1:	inserted by 24, 1983, s. 4
Section 1a:	inserted by 24, 1983, s. 5
Heading preceding section 2:	inserted by 24, 1983, s. 6
Section 2:	amended by 24, 1983, s. 7
Section 4(1):	substituted by 24, 1983, s. 8
Section 5:	amended by 24, 1983, s. 9 Part III comprising ss. 6 - 13 and heading inserted by 24, 1983, s. 10