Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 12:

In page 27, lines 4 to 11, to delete all words from and including "The" in line 4 down to and including line 11 and substitute the following:"The jurisdiction of the court in respect of civil proceedings under this Act may be exercised—

(a) as regards the Circuit Court, by the judge of the Circuit Court within whose circuit, and

(b) as regards the District Court, by a judge of the District Court for the time being assigned to the district court district within which,

the applicant resides or, if the application is for a barring order or an emergency barring order, the place, in relation to which that application was made, is situated.".

Amendment No. 12 is a technical amendment to improve the clarity of section 23(1) of the Bill, which provides for the geographical jurisdiction of the District Court and Circuit Court in civil proceedings under the Bill. The proposed new text of section 23(1) makes it clear that jurisdiction of the District Court under the Bill can be exercised by any judge who is assigned to the relevant district. As regards amendment No. 13, I am advised that deletion of section 23(2) is necessary to ensure compliance with the principle that the District Court exercises jurisdiction by reference to districts. This principal has been the subject of case law in the Supreme Court since the 1996 Act was enacted.