Court Opinion

ID: 9578916
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:49:36.625354+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:33:32.544577
License: Public Domain

*262Gunter, Justice,
concurring.
The Civil Practice Act was enacted by the General Assembly in 1966 and became effective September 1, 1967. Title 81A, Ga. Code Annotated. The Civil Practice Act "governs the procedure in all courts of record of the State of Georgia in all suits of a civil nature whether cognizable as cases at law or in equity, with the exception stated in section 81A-181. The provisions of this Title shall be construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.” Code Ann. § 81A-101.
It is my view that the General Assembly had the power to enact the Civil Practice Act. That power is derived from the provision in the Georgia Constitution which says: "Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the jurisdiction, powers, proceedings and practice of all courts or officers invested with judicial powers (except City Courts) of the same grade or class, so far as regulated by law, and the force and effect of the process, judgment and decree, by such courts, severally, shall be uniform. The uniformity must be established by the General Assembly, and in the case of City Courts, may be established by the General Assembly.” Code Ann. § 2-4401. (Emphasis supplied.)
Code Ann. § 81A-152 (a) provides that in all civil actions tried upon the facts without a jury, with certain exceptions, "the court shall find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon and judgment shall be entered pursuant to section 81A-158; and in granting or refusing interlocutory injunction the court shall similarly set forth the findings of fact and conclusions of law which constitute the grounds of its action.”
It is my view that this is a rule of procedure for certain types of cases in the trial courts, and that the uniformity of such procedure must (or may) be established by the General Assembly. Code Ann. § 2-4401. The Constitution confers this power upon the General Assembly, and the constitutional separation of powers’ principle, in my opinion, in no way offends or militates against this delegated power.
I concur in the judgment of the court. I am authorized *263to state that Justices Ingram and Hall also concur.