MAGISTRATES COURT (CIVIL PROCEEDINGS) ACT 2004 - SECT 6
MAGISTRATES COURT (CIVIL PROCEEDINGS) ACT 2004 - SECT 6
6 . General civil jurisdiction
(1) The Court has
jurisdiction to deal with —
(a) a
claim for an amount of money that is —
(i)
a debt or damages, whether liquidated or unliquidated; or
(ii)
the whole or a part of the unliquidated balance of a
partnership account; or
(iii)
the whole or a part of the amount of the distributive
share under an intestacy or of a legacy under a will,
where the amount
claimed, even if it is a balance after allowing for a payment on account or
for any admitted set-off or for any other amount, is not more than the
jurisdictional limit; and
(b) a
claim that involves an equitable claim or demand where the only relief claimed
is the recovery of an amount of money or of damages, whether liquidated or
unliquidated, and the amount claimed is not more than the jurisdictional
limit; and
(c) a
consumer/trader claim; and
(d) a
claim to recover possession of personal property that is unlawfully detained
where the value of the property is not more than the jurisdictional limit; and
(e)
subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 , a claim to recover possession
of real property where the gross annual rental value of the property is not
more than the jurisdictional limit; and
(f) any
of the claims set out in paragraphs (a) to (e), irrespective of the amount
claimed or the value of the property, if the party against which the claim is
made consents; and
(g) a
claim for an indemnity where the indemnity arises from or relates to another
claim that is before the Court or that has been heard and determined by the
Court.
(2) In a claim
referred to in subsection (1)(a)(ii) the Court also has jurisdiction and
powers relating to the declaration of partnership or the dissolution of
partnership.
(3) For the purposes
of subsection (1)(e) the gross annual rental value of any real property is
—
(a) if a
rental agreement is in force in respect of the property, the gross annual
rental payable under the agreement, not counting any amount payable by the
tenant in respect of rates, taxes or other charges in respect of the property
or in respect of the insurance or other outgoings necessary to maintain the
value of the property; or
(b) if a
gross rental value is in force under the Valuation of Land Act 1978 in
respect of the property, that value; or
(c) if
both paragraphs (a) and (b) apply, the lower of the gross annual rent payable
and the gross rental value; or
(d) if
neither paragraph (a) nor (b) applies, the gross annual rental that the land
might reasonably be expected to realise if let on a tenancy from year to year
upon condition that the landlord were liable for all rates, taxes and other
charges in respect of the property and the insurance and other outgoings
necessary to maintain the value of the land.
(4) For the purposes
of subsection (3)(a) and (d), the calculation of the gross annual rental value
of any land is to include any payment usually made for or in relation to a
tenancy of the kind in question but is not to include any allowance that may
apply, by discounting or otherwise, for advance payment or late payment of
rent.
(5) Despite subsection
(1), the Court does not have jurisdiction to deal with —
(a) a
claim in which the title to land is in question;
(b) a
claim in which a devise, bequest or limitation under a will or settlement is
in question;
(c) a
claim for damages for libel or slander;
(d) a
claim for damages for personal injury caused by or arising out of the use of a
motor vehicle;
(e) a
claim that the Building Commissioner or the State Administrative Tribunal has
jurisdiction to deal with under the Building Services (Complaint Resolution
and Administration) Act 2011 .
(6) The Court’s
jurisdiction to deal with a claim is not affected by the fact that the title
to land comes incidentally into question in the proceedings but the
Court’s judgment in such a claim is not evidence of title to the land
for any purpose.
[Section 6 amended: No. 16 of 2011 s. 129.]