{"id":"tas:act-1873-005","name":"Sheriff Act 1873","slug":"sheriff-act-1873","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"5 of 1873","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110929,"registerId":"tas-act-1873-005-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Power of Governor to appoint Sheriff to hold office during pleasure","content":"### 1 Power of Governor to appoint Sheriff to hold office during pleasure\n\n> *\\[Section 1 Amended by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*\n> \n> > (1)  It shall be lawful for the Governor, by warrant under his hand and the seal of the State, to appoint some fit and proper person to be Sheriff for Tasmania and its dependencies, and the person so appointed shall hold office during pleasure only, and may be removed from office by the Governor, anything contained in any charter or any law to the contrary notwithstanding.\n> \n> > (2)  *\\[Section 1 Subsection (2) omitted by No. 38 of 1979, s. 3 \\]*.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Responsibility of Sheriff","content":"### 2 Responsibility of Sheriff\n\n> *\\[Section 2 Inserted by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*If any person in the custody of the Sheriff or his officer or of any other person, either in execution or otherwise in the course of civil proceedings, escapes out of legal custody, such Sheriff or other person shall be liable to pay the damages sustained by the party at whose suit such prisoner was taken into custody, and the costs of any action to recover the same, but not any further sum.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 3 Short title\n\n> *\\[Section 3 Inserted by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*This Act may be cited as the [Sheriff Act 1873](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1873-005) .","sortOrder":2}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on available metadata, the Act appears to retain its original purpose of regulating the office of the Sheriff in Tasmania. The version current from 1997 suggests amendments have refined rather than fundamentally redirected the legislation. No evidence of significant scope expansion or contraction is apparent from the information provided."},"complexity_factors":["Legislation dates from 1873 — archaic legal language and concepts may be present","Full text of the Act was not provided, limiting complete analysis","Intersects with court procedure and enforcement law, which can be technical","Has been amended over time, meaning the current version reflects layered changes","Relatively narrow administrative scope focused on a single office (the Sheriff)"],"plain_english_summary":"The Sheriff Act 1873 (Tasmania) is a longstanding statute establishing the office and functions of the Sheriff — the court-appointed official who enforces court orders, serves legal documents and executes judgments. It affects Sheriffs and their officers, parties subject to enforcement (eg, debtors or those facing seizure/eviction), and courts and practitioners who rely on enforcement.\n\nThough the full text wasn’t shown, the Act appears to be foundational administrative law for Tasmania’s enforcement system, updated and in force since 1 February 1997."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The text supplied shows post‑enactment changes: section 1 was amended and section 2 was inserted (both attributed to 25 Geo. V No. 78), and subsection (2) of section 1 was later omitted (No. 38 of 1979). Those changes concretely altered scope by (a) specifying the Governor’s appointment/removal power and overriding contrary charters/laws, and (b) adding a civil‑liability provision making sheriffs liable for damages and recovery costs on escapes."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute with only a few operative clauses","Uses standard legal phraseology (eg, \"hold office during pleasure\") requiring basic constitutional familiarity","Creates a limited civil-liability rule (damages and costs) that intersects with court enforcement practice","Confers broad executive discretion (Governor’s appointment and removal power)","Contains historical amendment notes (sections inserted/omitted) that alter original text and may require reference to amendment history","Reference to overriding previous charters or laws (\"notwithstanding\") may require checking other instruments for full effect"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act gives the Governor the power to appoint and remove the Sheriff of Tasmania, who serves at the Governor’s pleasure. It also makes the Sheriff liable to pay damages and the costs of any action if someone held in the Sheriff’s custody escapes. That creates a direct financial exposure for sheriffs and concentrates appointment/removal authority in the Governor, affecting administrative discretion and enforcement costs for parties using civil process."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing the office of Sheriff, the terms of appointment, and liability for prisoner escapes. The only material change since 1873 has been the removal of subsection 1(2) in 1979, which actually reduced rather than expanded the scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (one of which has been repealed/omitted)","No defined terms section","Minimal cross-referencing (only historical amendment notes)","Straightforward conditional logic: single trigger (escape) → single consequence (liability for damages and costs)","Short total length (approximately 200 words of substantive text)","Simple sentence structure with no nested exceptions or sub-clauses beyond basic subsections"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is a short, old Tasmanian law that sets up the office of the Sheriff — a key legal officer responsible for enforcing court orders and managing prisoners in civil cases.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n*   **Who gets appointed:** The Governor (the Queen's representative in Tasmania) can appoint a \"fit and proper person\" to be Sheriff for Tasmania and its islands.\n*   **How long they serve:** The Sheriff holds office \"during pleasure\" — meaning they serve at the Governor's discretion and can be removed at any time, regardless of any older rules or charters that might suggest otherwise.\n*   **What happens if someone escapes:** If a prisoner in the Sheriff's custody escapes — whether locked up due to a court judgment (\"in execution\") or during other civil court proceedings — the Sheriff must pay compensation to the person who had them arrested. The Sheriff also has to cover legal costs for recovering that compensation, but nothing beyond that.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law establishes accountability for a critical law enforcement role. It ensures the Sheriff can be dismissed if needed, and creates a financial penalty if prisoners escape custody — giving the Sheriff a strong incentive to keep proper security. Despite being from 1873, it still governs how this important office operates today."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873","history":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873/history","analysis":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/sheriff-act-1873/documents"}}