A District Court’s power to hear a case is local. Its power to reach a person is not. That distinction is what section 10 establishes, and it matters most when a defendant or a debtor has moved provinces.
The rule
(1) A warrant issued by a Magistrate (a) for compelling the appearance of a person; or (b) for apprehending a person charged with an offence; or (c) of commitment, search or execution, may be executed in any part of the country and may be executed on a Sunday.
(2) A summons issued by a Magistrate or Clerk may be served in any part of the country.
(3) A warrant need not be returnable at a particular time but may remain in force until executed, and a warrant of execution or commitment may be executed from time to time until satisfaction of the warrant is obtained.
Every kind of warrant the Act creates is covered: warrants of arrest under sections 49, 50, 93 and 125, warrants for witnesses under sections 68 and 69, warrants of commitment under sections 170 and 171, warrants of execution under section 173, and search warrants issued under the Search Act. No backing or endorsement by a magistrate in the province where it is executed is required.
Who executes it
A warrant of arrest may under section 51 be directed to a named officer, to all police officers in the country generally, or both, and under section 52 any police officer may execute a warrant directed generally. Section 274 makes obedience a duty: all members of the Police Force shall obey the warrants, orders and directions of Magistrates, under the penalties to which a member is liable for neglect of duty. A warrant of execution under section 174 is executed by or under the direction of a police officer or another officer named in the warrant. Section 11 of the Arrest Act similarly allows a warrant to be directed to a named person, to the officer in charge of police in a province, or to all members of the Force.
Does a warrant expire?
Section 10(3) means an unexecuted warrant of arrest does not lapse because the hearing date named in the original summons has passed. It remains live until the person is arrested or the Court recalls it. A defendant who learns that a warrant is outstanding should therefore surrender to the Court or the police rather than wait for it to go stale, and can ask the magistrate to recall the warrant and proceed by summons or bail. Section 12 adds that a warrant or summons is not avoided by the magistrate who issued it dying or ceasing to hold office.
A warrant of execution is different in one respect: section 174(5) requires goods seized under it to be sold within the period the warrant fixes or, if none, within 14 days of the levy. But the warrant itself may be executed again and again until the sum is satisfied, which is what section 10(3) contemplates for a debtor whose goods are taken in stages.
Which Court the person is taken to
| Warrant | Destination |
|---|---|
| Arrest on an information (ss 49, 50, 93, 125) | “Before a Court to answer to the information”: the Court that issued it, or the nearest Court under s 55, which may then remand the person to the issuing Court under s 123 or s 116 |
| Witness (ss 68, 69) | The Court hearing the case, at the time and place specified in the warrant |
| Commitment (ss 170, 171, 194) | The corrective institution or police lock-up named in the warrant; s 87 requires a receipt for the prisoner |
| Appellant about to leave the country (s 237) | Prison, until the appeal is determined or a recognizance is given |
Section 116 is the provision for an indictable offence committed in a remote place: if the evidence before the first Court is insufficient, that Court may by warrant order the defendant to be taken before a Court in or near the place of the offence, transmitting the depositions with him.
Enforcing a money order in another province
For fines and civil orders the Act offers a tidier route than sending a warrant across the country. Section 166 lets the Clerk sign a transfer of fine certificate sending enforcement to the Court nearest the person liable, and once transmitted all enforcement steps must be taken there. See enforcement in another town.
Protection of the officer who executes it
Section 207 provides that a warrant of commitment or execution is not void by reason only of a defect in it if there is a good conviction or order to sustain it. Section 247(3) protects the magistrate from an action for anything done under a warrant issued after a summons was served and disobeyed, and section 248 protects a magistrate who issues a warrant in good faith on another Court’s order. The officer who executes a warrant regular on its face is likewise protected; the person aggrieved must attack the conviction or order behind it, by appeal or review, before suing anyone. See can I sue a magistrate.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.