The Justices Protection Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 44) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that gave

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

immunity from

civil action - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

s arising from their adjudication. The Act was sponsored and drafted by John Jervis and was one of the so-called Jervis Acts of 1848.

Background

Prior to the Act, Justices of the Peace (

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

) were hampered in their functions by the risk of

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

for decisions they had taken in the execution of their official functions. An individual disgruntled at a decision could mount a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' challenge by bringing a civil claim against a Justice and even achieve a rehearing of his case.Freestone & Richardson (1980) ''p.''13 Claims against Justices for

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

, through

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

s of '' certiorari'', for exceeding their jurisdiction were particularly common. The courts did, however, take any opportunity to interpret the law narrowly so as to exclude the challenges, as for example in the ''Bumboat case'', and Sheridan has doubted whether there was really an extensive problem. Sir John Jervis was Attorney General and shared the widespread view that the law as to Justices was archaic and in need in reform. Further, Justices were becoming increasingly important with the rise of criminal

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

. The Act was one of the three Jervis Acts, the other two being the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1848 and Indictable Offences Act 1848.

The Act

The

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

of the Act was: The Act, for the first time in England and Wales, drew a distinction between unlawful acts of Justices within their jurisdiction and acts unlawful because performed outside the Justice's jurisdiction. Claims could only be brought for actions within jurisdiction if there was an allegation that the action was malicious and without reasonable and probable cause.

Repeal

The Act was repealed by the

Justices of the Peace Act 1979 A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility a ...

which introduced similar protection. The law is now contained in sections 31-33 of the

Courts Act 2003 The Courts Act 2003 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom implementing many of the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's (a Court of Appeal judgeReview of the Criminal Courtsin England and Wales (also known as the "Auld Review" ...

.Courts Act 2003
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Related legislation

The Constables Protection Act 1750 already gave constables "and other officers" protection from being sued for carrying out the orders of the courts.

References

Bibliography

* *Getzler, J. S. (2004)
Jervis, Sir John (1802–1856)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 4 July 2007 * * * {{UK legislation 1848 in British law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1848 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales Legal history of England Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament