Land Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1932

1 Distribution of proceeds of sales of holdings by Department of Finance. N.I.

(1) Where the Ministry of Finance (in this Act referred to as “the Ministry”) causes a holding to be sold under any of the powers vested in the Ministry by the Land Purchase Acts, the Ministry shall apply the proceeds derived from such sale (in this section referred to as “the proceeds of the sale”) in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2) The proceeds of the sale shall be credited to a separate account in the books of the Ministry, and shall be applied in payment, in the first instance, of all moneys certified to be due to the Ministry in respect of the holding, and of all costs and expenses incurred by the Ministry in relation to the sale or the distribution of the proceeds of the sale or otherwise in relation to the holding.

(3) The balance of the proceeds of the sale shall be paid to the persons who may be determined under the provisions of the Schedule to this Act to be entitled to the said balance.

(4) Where the person determined as aforesaid to be entitled to the balance, or a part of the balance, of the proceeds of the sale is a minor or of unsound mind or otherwise under legal disability—

(a) if the amount to which such person is entitled does not exceed fifteen pounds, the Ministry may pay the amount to his guardian or committee, or, if there is no such guardian or committee, then to any person as a trustee for the person under legal disability, upon the giving of such undertaking to apply the amount received for the benefit of the person under legal disability as the Ministry may require;

(b) if the amount to which such person is entitled exceeds fifteen pounds, the Ministry shall pay the amount into the county court to be administered for the benefit of the person entitled to the same.

(5) The determination, in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule to this Act, of the persons entitled to the balance of the proceeds of the sale, and any decision or order under sub-section (4) of this section, shall be conclusive and binding on all persons:

Provided that any person claiming to be entitled to such balance or a part thereof may appeal to the county court from such determination, and the determination of the county court on such appeal shall be final.

Subs. (6) rep. by 1959 c. 25 (NI)

(7) All payments of the balance of the proceeds of any such sale as aforesaid made by the Ministry before the twenty-third day of April, nineteen hundred and thirty-two, shall be deemed to have been made in pursuance of a final determination or decision under this section.

(8) Sub-section (3) of section thirty of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881 [1881 c.49] , and sub-section (4) of section thirty-eight of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1896 [1896 c.47] , are hereby repealed as respects sales of holdings under this section.

[F1 (9) Where—

(a) any balances to credit in respect of the proceeds of sale of holdings under any of the powers vested in the Ministry by the Land Purchase Acts shall have remained dormant or unclaimed in the hands of the Ministry for a period of fifteen years at least before the first day of January then last past, the Ministry may direct that such balances shall be transferred to the Exchequer;

(b) the Ministry is satisfied that any person making a claim in that behalf is entitled to any payment in respect of the sums transferred to the Exchequer under this sub-section, the Ministry may issue to that person out of the Consolidated Fund such sum as may appear to it to be necessary to provide for the said payment.]

F1 1955 c.19 (NI)