The National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1946 / with general introduction and annotations by N.P. Shannon and Douglas Potter.

  • United Kingdom
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act, 1946 / with general introduction and annotations by N.P. Shannon and Douglas Potter. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    185/252 (page 175)
    ACT, 1946. SECTION 71 (5) Recoverable as debts due to the Crown.—By section 4 of the Adminis- tration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1933; 26 Halsbury’s Statutes 641 ; any debt due to the Crown may, without prejudice to the recovery thereof by means of an information in the High Court, be recovered by proceedings instituted by writ of summons, and may also be instituted in a County Court in cases within the jurisdiction. For the procedure in the High Court, see R.S.C. Order 68, Rule 5; Annual: Practice, 1945, 1592B. For the procedure in the County Court, see sections 47 (6), 75 (1) and (2) and 193 (4) and the Fifth Schedule of the County Courts Act, 1934; 27 Halsbury’s Statutes 113, 127, 178, 193 ; County Court Practice, 1946. As to the recovery of Crown debts by Latin or English information, see 9 Halsbury’s Laws (2nd Edn.) 659-682. (c) Recovered by the Minister summarily as a civil debt.—This method of recovery is to be without prejudice to any other remedy, set out in note (b), supra. The summary recovery of civil debts is a procedure created by statute. Various statutes provide for the recovery of civil debts in this way ; the procedure for it is laid down in sections 6, 7 and 35 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879; 11 Halsbury’s Statutes 325, 342. The procedure is by way of complaint and not information, a complaint being the appropriate way of having a person brought before the Court and ordered to pay money or do some act, while an information is the appropriate procedure when an offence, punishable by fine, imprisonment or otherwise, is alleged. As to the law generally, see Stone’s Justices’ Manual (78th Edn., 1946) 62, 179; 21 Halsbury’s Laws (2nd Edn.) 594, 632. Cf. Chadwick v. Pioneer Private Telephone Co., Lid., [1941] 1 All E.R. 522; a case decided on section 174 (1) of the National Health Insurance Act, 1936; 29 Halsbury’s Statutes 1175; in which STABLE, J., held that as the section contained no provision that the summary recovery as a civil debt of benefit lost by the employer’s default in paying contributions was without prejudice to other remedies, summary recovery was the only remedy. In the application of this subsection to Scotland it is to have effect as if the word “ summarily ’’ were omitted (section 90 (c), post). (Z@) Notwithstanding anything in any Act to the contrary, proceedings to be within three years.—The general rule in courts of summary jurisdiction, where no statute expressly provides otherwise, is that an information or complaint must be laid or made within six months from the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose (Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848, section 11; 11 Halsbury’s Statutes 278). Section 68 (3), ante, does not affect this provision. The periods there laid down only apply to prosecutions for offences, not to the recovery of civil debts. Three years was the period in the sections of the Unemployment and National Health Insurance Acts referred to in the General note to this section, supra, and now also is the period in section 54 (2) of the National Insurance Act, 1946. The period in section 8 (5) of the Family Allowances Act, also there referred to, is twelve months; that section relates to the recovery by the Minister of over-paid allowances. The Limitation Act, 1939, by section 32 thereof; 32 Halsbury’s Statutes 244; does not apply where other statutes fix a limitation period and in any case only applies to “‘ actions or arbitrations ”’. The time when the matter complained of arose is when the money became due to the fund under the particular provision of this Act under which it is claimed. The cause of complaint must be complete (Corbett v. Badger, [1901] 2 K.B. 278; 26 Digest 518, 2204). In the application of this subsection to Scotland it is to have effect as if the word “summary ”’ were omitted, and nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the period within which proceedings for the recovery of any sum may be brought (section 90 (c) and (h), post). (e) Institution of proceedings.—As to when proceedings are “ instituted ”’, see note (bd) to section 68, ante. (f) Inspector or other officer authorised by the Minister.—As to this, see note (d) to section 68, ante. (g) Right of audience.—As to this, see note (e) to section 68, ante, but note the different wording of the two subsections. This subsection is limited to ‘‘ conducting ”’ proceedings. 71. Priority of contributions in winding up and bankruptcy.— (1) Sections seventy-eight, two hundred and sixty-four and two hundred and ninety-eight of the Companies Act, 1929 (which relate to the debts of a company which are to be paid in priority to other debts) (a) shall have effect as if this Act were included among the enactments mentioned in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of the said section two hundred and sixty-four (0). (2) (c) Subsection (1) of section thirty-three of the Bankruptcy Act, 1914 (d), shall have effect as if at the end thereof there were inserted the following paragraph :—