Tasmania act

Sheriff Act 1873

In ForceTAS

Jurisdiction

Tasmania

Act Number

5 of 1873

Collection

act

Plain English Summary

2/10 complexity

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.

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Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Sheriff Act 1873.

Power of Governor to appoint Sheriff to hold office during pleasure

1 Power of Governor to appoint Sheriff to hold office during pleasure

[Section 1 Amended by 25 Geo. V No. 78 ]

(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.

(2) [Section 1 Subsection (2) omitted by No. 38 of 1979, s. 3 ]. . . . . . . .

Responsibility of Sheriff

2 Responsibility of Sheriff

*[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.

Short title

3 Short title

*[Section 3 Inserted by 25 Geo. V No. 78 ]*This Act may be cited as the Sheriff Act 1873 .

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