The Juries (Ireland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 91) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated and amended statutes for Ireland related to juries. The act abolished outdated penalties, moved responsibility for creating jury lists from petty constables to churchwardens and parish overseers, expanded jury qualification to include bankers and merchants and devise a new method of jury selection. The act repealed for Ireland statutes from 1259 to 1825.
The act included repeals mirroring for Ireland the Juries Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4 c. 50), including repealing acts of the Parliament of England extended to Ireland by Poynings' Act 1495.
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.
In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.
By the early 19th-century, English criminal law had become increasingly intricate and difficult to navigate due to the large number of acts passed that had accumulated over many years. This complexity posed challenges for law enforcement.
In 1825, the Juries Act 1825 (6 Geo. 4. c. 50) was passed, which consolidated for England and Wales enactments related to juries and repealed over 65 statutes.
In 1827, Peel's Acts were passed to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions of the criminal law, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including:
In 1828, parallel bills for Ireland to Peel's Acts were introduced, becoming:
In 1828, the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for England and Wales almost 60 related statutes. In 1829, the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 34) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to offences against the person and repealed for Ireland almost 60 enactments relating to the Criminal law.
In 1828, the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 74) was passed, which repealed for India offences repealed by the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27) and the Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 31).
The Juries (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 21 March 1833, presented by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 2 April 1833, introduced by Lord Plunket, and was committed to a Committee of the Whole House. During debate, the bill was opposed by George Evans, 1st Baron Carbery, who argued it would allow illiterate and non-English speaking jurors to serve, the William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow, who claimed Ireland's existing jury system was working well, William Best, 1st Baron Wynford, who contended it was inconsistent with the recently passed Coercive Bill, Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden, who cited opposition from Irish judges and other peers, who argued it was inappropriate to align Irish and English jury systems before addressing broader societal differences. In support of the bill, Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde, argued it would increase Irish confidence in legal institutions and William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket emphasized it was based on Sir Robert Peel's earlier reforms, not Daniel O'Connell's influence.
The committee met on 3 April 1833 and reported on 4 April 1833, with amendments. The third reading of the amended bill was delayed several times, and the amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 29 April 1833 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 4 May 1833. After a number of deferrals, the bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 20 August 1833 and was committed to a Committee of the Whole House, which met on 21 August 1833 and reported on 22 August 1833, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 23 August and passed, without amendments.
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 26 August 1833
The bill was granted royal assent on 28 August 1833.
In 1834, the act was amended by the (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 8), to fix practical implementation issues with the original jury selection system, particularly around timing and administrative procedures.
Previously, Justices were required to hold October General or Quarter Sessions in each Division of Irish counties The law modified the timing to be "not less than One Month nor more than Six Weeks after the First Day of October" for special sessions to examine juror lists. The amendment addressed an issue where the Jurors Book (a registry of eligible jurors) wasn't being delivered to Sheriffs or proper officers in time for use by January 1st. This had caused practical problems with empanelling juries according to the original act's requirements. The amendment explicitly validated previous jury selections that may have deviated from the original act's procedures, declaring that jury returns and panels made under these circumstances would be considered lawful, even if they didn't strictly follow the previous act's requirements.
In 1839, the act was amended by the Juries (Ireland) Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c. 48) regarding the examination of jury lists. The act addressed practical difficulties in holding special sessions, particularly when insufficient numbers of Justices were available at prescribed times. Under the new provisions, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was empowered to issue warrants establishing alternative arrangements for these special sessions. To ensure public awareness, any such changes required publication in both the Dublin Gazette and local county newspapers, with notices appearing no sooner than fourteen days before the revised session dates.
The whole act, except for sections 47 and 50 were repealed by the Juries Act (Ireland) 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 65).
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 57).
Section 50 of the act repealed 43 enactments, listed in that section, effective from 1 January 1834.
Section 50 of the act also provided that nothing in the act shall be construed to affect or alter any part of the Quakers Act 1695 (7 & 8 Will. 3), any powers unrepealed nor juries on civil bills before assistant barristers.