The Quarter Sessions.

These are either the general county quarter sessions or the borough sessions.

The County Quarter Sessions.-The times for holding the general county quarter sessions are fixed by statute, (n) and are as follows :—

In the first week after the 11th of October, 28th of December, 31st of March, and 24th of June. These times may, however, be varied within certain limits by the justices at the previous quarter sessions, so as not to clash with the assizes. (0)

Constitution of the Court.-All the justices holding a commission of the peace in the county may be members of the court, but there must be at least two present to form a quorum. The county sessions are convened by a precept of two justices of the peace of the county, or of the custos rotulorum (or keeper of the records) and one justice, addressed to the sheriff, requiring him to summon the sessions on the day named, and to give notice to coroners, gaolers, stewards, etc., in his bailiwick, and to return a grand and petty jury. The court of quarter sessions may try appeals from petty sessions, and it has an extensive jurisdiction in all criminal matters except those excluded by statute, of which the principal are treason, murder or any capital felony, perjury, forgery, bigamy, abduction, rape, or any felony for which a person not previously convicted is subject to penal servitude for life. (p)

An order on motion, made in a summary way, may be removed into the King's Bench Division on writ of certiorari, and there either quashed or confirmed. But an indictment found at quarter sessions may only be removed into the King's Bench Division on writ of certiorari on the ground that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in the court below, or that some difficult question of law or fact is likely to arise, or that a special jury or view of premises may be required. By the Judicature Act, 1894, (7) all appeals from

(n) 11 Geo. IV. and 1 Will. IV. c. 70.

(0) 57 & 58 Vict. c. 6.

(q) 57 & 58 Vict. s. 1 (5).

(p) 5 & 6 Vict. c. 38.

petty or quarter sessions are to go before a divisional court of the High Court of Justice.

Where the justices are made judges of fact as well as of law, their decision was formerly final; but they could state a special case for the opinion of the King's Bench Division on some difficult question of law, in the mean time quashing the order, and the high court would then confirm or quash the action. In other criminal cases the judgment of quarter sessions could only be inquired into on writ of error. Appeal now lies to the Court of Criminal Appeal under the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, on convictions on indictments, criminal informations, and cases dealt with by Quarter Sessions under the Vagrancy Act, 1824, as presently stated.

Borough Sessions.-Most boroughs have their Own quarter sessions (r) independently of the general quarter sessions held once in each quarter. The recorder of the borough (who must be a barrister of five years' standing) is the sole judge, but he may have an assistant, and in case of absence may appoint a deputy. Their jurisdiction is practically the same as that of the county sessions.

The Central Criminal Court.

This court was constituted in 1834, (s) and its jurisdiction was to extend to indictable offences in the counties of London and Middlesex, and in certain parts of Essex, Kent, and Surrey. The Central Criminal Court acts as the assize court for these districts, (t) and before it all indictments not triable at quarter sessions within the above districts are laid; the court also sits as the court of quarter sessions for the City of London. Amongst others the following persons are judges: The lord mayor of London, the lord chancellor, all the judges of the High Court of Justice, the alderman, the recorder, and the common serjeant of the City of London, with certain others, and also such persons as the Crown from time to time

(r) Separate quarter sessions are now granted on the petition of the borough council under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 162. (s) 4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 36; and see 38 & 39 Vict. c. 79; 51 & 52 Vict. c. 41.

(t) As to the times of sitting see 4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 36, s. 15; 44 & 45 Vict. c. 58, s. 18.

appoints. To any of these persons the Crown delivers from time to time commissions of oyer and terminer and of gaol delivery to try all treasons, murders, felonies, and misdemeanors committed within the district of the Central Criminal Court. Certiorari lies from the Central Criminal Court to the courts of quarter sessions within the district, and by the same writ an indictment found at the Central Criminal Court may be removed into the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.

Courts of quarter sessions within the above districts may also transmit cases to be heard by the Central Criminal Court.

The Courts of Petty Sessions.

Justices of the Peace.-A statute of Edward IV. (u) took away from the old criminal court of the sheriff's tourn the power of hearing and determining criminal charges, and conferred it on the justices of the peace, who had been appointed as early as the reign of Edward I. Of justices of the peace some were so by virtue of special offices from very early times, and still remain so. Of these the principal is the king by virtue of his royal dignity, and others are the lord chancellor, the lord treasurer, the lord high steward, the lord high constable, the judges of the High Court, and the master of the rolls (the latter by prescription). The coroner and the sheriff are conservators of the peace within their own county, and the lord mayor and aldermen of the city of London are also justices of the peace. All these may commit persons breaking the king's peace, or bind them in recognizances to keep it. Justices of the peace not holding virtute officii were originally chosen by the freeholders by virtue of the king's writ directing their election in full county court before the sheriff. The 34 Edward III. c. 1 gave them the power of trying felonies, and since then they have been appointed by the Crown on the advice of the lord chancellor, and no longer by the freeholders. The justices of the peace for each county are recommended to the lord chancellor for appointment by the lord lieutenant, and they hold office by virtue of a special commission under the Great Seal, the form of which was settled as early as 1590. (u) 1 Ed. IV. c. 2.

Qualification of Justices of the Peace.-Justices of the peace act gratuitously, and by two statutes of George II. they were required to have an estate in possession of at least £100, or a reversion or remainder expectant on such lease as therein mentioned with reserved rents of the clear yearly value of £300. (x) Further, any person who for the space of two years previously had been assessed to the inhabited house duty at a value of not less than £100, and who had been rated to all rates and taxes in respect to such premises, was eligible to become a justice of the peace, provided not otherwise disqualified. (y)

The qualification by estate in the case of justices of the peace for any court has now been abolished by the Justices of the Peace Act, 1906; (2) and it is also provided by the same Act, that a person may be appointed justice of the peace though he does not reside in the county for which he is appointed, provided he resides within seven miles of it.

Constitution of the Petty Sessions.-Any court of summary jurisdiction consisting of two or more justices sitting in a petty sessional court house (including the lord mayor of London and any alderman), or any police or stipendiary magistrate sitting in a court house at which he is authorized to do any act authorized to be done by two or more justices, forms a court of petty sessions, (a) special provision being made under the Children Act, 1908, for the hearing of charges, etc., as to children and young persons under the age of sixteen in special "Juvenile Courts" established by the Act in the Metropolis and elsewhere. (aa) No indictable offence may be dealt with summarily except at petty sessions, and no fine exceeding twenty shillings or imprisonment of more than fourteen days may be inflicted by any court of summary jurisdiction other than a petty sessional court. (b)

Jurisdiction of the Petty Sessional Court.-Jurisdiction has been conferred upon magistrates by various statutes (the (x) 5 Geo. II. c. 18; 18 Geo. II. c. 20.

(y) 28 & 29 Vict. c. 54; and see 45 & 46 Vict. c. 50.

(2) 6 Ed. VII. c. 16, ss. 1, 2.

(a) Interpretation Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. s. 13 (12)). A petty sessional court house is defined, Ib. s. 13 (13).

(aa) 8 Ed. VII. c. 67, s. 111.

(b) Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 49, s. 13 (7) (8)).

principal of which are the Criminal Law Consolidation Act of 1861, and the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879) (c) to try offences in a summary way without committing to the quarter sessions or assizes. In some cases one justice alone is empowered to act; but the court cannot properly be termed a court of petty sessions except in cases where two or more justices must act. (d)

Three classes of persons (e) come within the scope of the Summary Jurisdiction Acts :

(1) Children under twelve years of age, who, except in cases of homicide, may be dealt with summarily with the consent of the parent or guardian. Not more than one month's imprisonment may be inflicted, or a fine of not more than forty shillings. (f) (2) Young persons between the age of twelve and sixteen. may be dealt with summarily for larceny and other minor indictable offences if they consent to that course. Imprisonment with or without hard labour, for not more than three months, or a fine of not more than £10 may be inflicted. (g) In addition, children may be sentenced to six strokes of the birch, and adults to twelve strokes. Provision is also made by the Children Act, 1908 (8 Ed. VII. c. 67), for the punishment and correction of children and young persons under sixteen, by confinement in special places of detention provided by the Act, and otherwise: and by the Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914, for the committal to Borstal institutions of young persons between the ages of 16 and 21. (gg)

(3) Adults, if they consent, may be dealt with summarily for a limited class of indictable offences, and sentenced to not more than three months' hard labour. An adult may, if he pleads guilty to a certain class of more serious indictable offences, be sentenced to not more than six months' imprisonment with or without

(c) And see as to theft, 18 & 19 Vict. c. 126.

(d) See definition of petty sessional court, supra.

(e) See the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 49). (f) Ib. s. 10. (g) Ib. s. 11.

(gg) 4 & 5 Geo. V. c. 58, ss. 7, 9, 10. See also the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, and the Prevention of Crimes Act, 1908, ss. 1 (1), 2.