195. (1) In a municipality where there is a clerk of the peace, the latter shall be ex officio the clerk of the justices of the peace and each of his deputies shall be competent to act as such.
(2) In a municipality where there is an office of the Court of Québec but no clerk of the peace, the clerk of such court shall be ex officio the clerk of the justices of the peace and each of his deputies shall be competent to act as such.
(3) In the other municipalities the clerk or secretary-treasurer of the municipality shall be ex officio the clerk of the justices of the peace unless another clerk of the justices of the peace has been appointed for such locality by the Minister of Justice, as hereinafter provided.In such municipalities the assistant clerk or assistant secretary-treasurer, as the case may be, shall be competent to act.
(4) In a municipality where a Municipal Court exists, the clerk of such court shall be ex officio the clerk of the municipal judge when the latter exercises judicial powers which are not within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court, notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section. In such case the assistant clerk of the Municipal Court shall be competent to act as clerk of the municipal judge when the latter acts in his capacity of magistrate.
(5) In territories not yet organized as municipalities, a justice of the peace may himself choose a clerk and must make known the name and address of such clerk to the clerk of the peace of the judicial district whereof such territory forms part.
(6) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Minister of Justice may appoint a clerk of the justices of the peace for one or more municipalities or for any extent of territory that he may see fit, and such clerk must act, to the exclusion of all others, within the territory determined in the order-in-council appointing him.
(7) In case the clerk or officer authorized to replace him is, for any cause, unable to act or refuses to act, the magistrate may appoint a clerk for the cases which he has then to dispose of. Such appointment shall forthwith be brought to the knowledge of the clerk of the peace.