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Supplementary provisions about the bench | |
19 Training, development and appraisal of lay justices | |
(1) Rules may (in addition to making provision under sections 10(4) and 18(6)) | |
make provision for, or in connection with, the training, development and | |
appraisal of lay justices. | 5 |
(2) Such rules may make provision for committees, constituted in accordance with | |
the rules, to have such functions as may be specified in the rules, including, in | |
particular— | |
(a) providing advice and support to lay justices in connection with their | |
functions as lay justices; | 10 |
(b) identifying the training needs of lay justices; | |
(c) appraising lay justices and reporting on the results of appraisals; | |
(d) giving or withholding approval for the purposes of section 18; | |
(e) advising the Lord Chancellor in relation to authorisations of lay justices | |
as members of family proceedings courts or youth courts; | 15 |
(f) granting or revoking such authorisations on behalf of the Lord | |
Chancellor. | |
(3) The Lord Chancellor must ensure that appropriate training and training | |
materials are provided for lay justices with a view to enabling them to comply | |
with requirements as to training imposed by rules under section 10 or 18 or this | 20 |
section. | |
20 Rules | |
(1) In sections 10, 17, 18 and 19 “rules” means rules made by the Lord Chancellor. | |
(2) Before making any rules for the purposes of section 10, 17, 18 or 19 the Lord | |
Chancellor must consult— | 25 |
(a) the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee, | |
(b) the Family Procedure Rule Committee, and | |
(c) the Magistrates’ Courts Rule Committee. | |
21 Duty to consult lay justices on matters affecting them etc. | |
The Lord Chancellor must take all reasonable and practicable steps— | 30 |
(a) for ensuring that lay justices acting in a local justice area are kept | |
informed of matters affecting them in the performance of their duties, | |
and | |
(b) for ascertaining their views on such matters. | |
District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) | 35 |
22 Appointment etc. | |
(1) Her Majesty may, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, appoint a | |
person who has a 7 year general qualification to be a District Judge | |
(Magistrates’ Courts). | |
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(2) A District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) must, before acting as such, take the | |
oath of allegiance and judicial oath in accordance with the Promissory Oaths | |
Act 1868 (c. 72) and the Promissory Oaths Act 1871 (c. 48). | |
(3) The Lord Chancellor may pay to a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) such | |
allowances as he may determine. | 5 |
(4) Any such allowances are in addition to the salary charged on and paid out of | |
the Consolidated Fund under section 9 of the Administration of Justice Act | |
1973 (c. 15). | |
(5) The Lord Chancellor may remove a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) from | |
office on the ground of incapacity or misbehaviour. | 10 |
23 Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) | |
The Lord Chancellor— | |
(a) may designate one of the District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) to be | |
Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate), and | |
(b) if he does so, may designate another of them to be the deputy of the | 15 |
Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate). | |
24 Deputy District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) | |
(1) The Lord Chancellor may appoint a person who has a 7 year general | |
qualification to be a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) for such | |
period as the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate (but subject to subsection | 20 |
(4)). | |
(2) A Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) must, before acting as such, take | |
the oath of allegiance and judicial oath in accordance with the Promissory | |
Oaths Act 1868 and the Promissory Oaths Act 1871. | |
(3) The Lord Chancellor may pay to a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) | 25 |
such remuneration and allowances as he may determine. | |
(4) The Lord Chancellor may remove a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ | |
Courts) from office on the ground of incapacity or misbehaviour. | |
(5) During the period of his appointment, a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ | |
Courts)— | 30 |
(a) is to act as a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts), and | |
(b) is to be treated for all purposes (apart from appointment, tenure, | |
remuneration, allowances and pensions) as if he were a District Judge | |
(Magistrates’ Courts). | |
25 District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) as justices of the peace | 35 |
(1) A District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) is by virtue of his office a justice of the | |
peace for England and Wales. | |
(2) It is the duty of a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) to act as a justice of the | |
peace in any local justice area in accordance with arrangements made by or on | |
behalf of the Lord Chancellor. | 40 |
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26 District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts) able to act alone | |
(1) Nothing in the 1980 Act— | |
(a) requiring a magistrates’ court to be composed of two or more justices, | |
or | |
(b) limiting the powers of a magistrates’ court when composed of a single | 5 |
justice, | |
applies to a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts). | |
(2) A District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) may— | |
(a) do any act, and | |
(b) exercise alone any jurisdiction, | 10 |
which can be done or exercised by two justices, apart from granting or | |
transferring a licence. | |
(3) Any enactment making provision ancillary to the jurisdiction exercisable by | |
two justices of the peace also applies to the jurisdiction of a District Judge | |
(Magistrates’ Courts), unless the provision relates to granting or transferring a | 15 |
licence. | |
(4) This section does not apply to the hearing or determination of family | |
proceedings (as defined by section 65 of the 1980 Act). | |
(5) “The 1980 Act” means the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (c. 43). | |
Justices’ clerks and assistant clerks | 20 |
27 Justices’ clerks and assistant clerks | |
(1) A justices’ clerk is a person who is— | |
(a) appointed by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1), and | |
(b) designated by the Lord Chancellor as a justices’ clerk. | |
(2) A person may be designated as a justices’ clerk only if he— | 25 |
(a) has a 5 year magistrates’ court qualification, | |
(b) is a barrister or solicitor who has served for not less than 5 years as an | |
assistant to a justices’ clerk, or | |
(c) has previously been a justices’ clerk. | |
(3) The Lord Chancellor— | 30 |
(a) must assign each justices’ clerk to one or more local justice areas, and | |
(b) subject to subsection (4), may change an assignment so as to assign the | |
justices’ clerk to a different local justice area or to different local justice | |
areas. | |
(4) Before changing an assignment of a justices’ clerk so that he is no longer | 35 |
assigned to a local justice area, the Lord Chancellor must consult— | |
(a) the chairman of the lay justices assigned to that area, or | |
(b) if it is not possible or not practicable to consult the chairman, the | |
deputy chairman or such of the lay justices assigned to or acting in the | |
area as appear to the Lord Chancellor appropriate. | 40 |
(5) An assistant to a justices’ clerk is a person who is— | |
(a) appointed by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1) or provided under | |
a contract made by virtue of section 2(4), and | |
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(b) designated by the Lord Chancellor as an assistant to a justices’ clerk. | |
(6) The Lord Chancellor may by regulations provide that, subject to such | |
exceptions as may be prescribed by the regulations, a person may be | |
designated as an assistant to a justices’ clerk only if he— | |
(a) has a 5 year magistrates’ court qualification, or | 5 |
(b) has such qualifications as may be prescribed by, or approved by the | |
Lord Chancellor in accordance with, the regulations. | |
(7) In this Part “assistant clerk” is short for “assistant to a justices’ clerk”. | |
28 Functions | |
(1) Rules may make provision enabling things authorised to be done by, to or | 10 |
before a single justice of the peace to be done instead by, to or before a justices’ | |
clerk. | |
(2) Rules may also make provision enabling things authorised to be done by, to or | |
before a justices’ clerk (whether by virtue of subsection (1) or otherwise) to be | |
done instead by, to or before an assistant clerk. | 15 |
(3) An enactment or rule of law which— | |
(a) regulates the exercise of any jurisdiction or powers of justices of the | |
peace, or | |
(b) relates to things done in the exercise or purported exercise of any such | |
jurisdiction or powers, | 20 |
applies in relation to the exercise or purported exercise of any such jurisdiction | |
or powers by a justices’ clerk by virtue of subsection (1) as if he were a justice | |
of the peace. | |
(4) The functions of a justices’ clerk include giving advice to any or all of the | |
justices of the peace to whom he is clerk about matters of law (including | 25 |
procedure and practice) on questions arising in connection with the discharge | |
of their functions, including questions arising when the clerk is not personally | |
attending on them. | |
(5) The powers of a justices’ clerk include, at any time when he thinks he should | |
do so, bringing to the attention of any or all of the justices of the peace to whom | 30 |
he is clerk any point of law (including procedure and practice) that is or may | |
be involved in any question so arising. | |
(6) For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5) the functions of justices of the peace | |
do not include functions as a judge of the Crown Court. | |
(7) Subsections (4) and (5) do not limit— | 35 |
(a) the powers and duties of a justices’ clerk, or | |
(b) the matters on which justices of the peace may obtain assistance from | |
their clerk. | |
(8) In this section “rules” means rules made by the Lord Chancellor. | |
(9) Before making any rules for the purposes of this section the Lord Chancellor | 40 |
must consult— | |
(a) the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee, | |
(b) the Family Procedure Rule Committee, and | |
(c) the Magistrates’ Courts Rule Committee. | |
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