Local Government Changes for England (Magistrates' Courts) Regulations 1996

1996 No. 674

MAGISTRATES' COURTS

The Local Government Changes for England (Magistrates' Courts) Regulations 1996

Made 5th March 1996

Laid before Parliament 8th March 1996

Coming into force 1st April 1996

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 19 and 26 of the Local Government Act 19921, hereby makes the following Regulations;

S-1 These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Changes...

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Changes for England (Magistrates' Courts) Regulations 1996 and, subject to paragraph (2), shall come into force on 1st April 1996.

(2) These Regulations shall come into force immediately after the coming into force of paragraphs 10 and 11 of Schedule 2 to the Local Government (Wales) Act 19942.

S-2 The enactments listed in the Schedule shall be amended or...

2. The enactments listed in the Schedule shall be amended or construed as provided therein.

S-3 Every person who immediately before 1st April 1996 holds office...

3.—(1) Every person who immediately before 1st April 1996 holds office as a justice of the peace for an old commission area shall on and after that date hold office as a justice of the peace for the new commission area which includes the petty sessions area for which he acts, and the commissions of the peace for the hold commission areas shall accordingly have effect as commissions of the peace for the new commission areas.

(2) In paragraph (1)—

“old commission area” means an area in England for which there was a commission of the peace immediately before 1st April 1996;

“new commission area” means an area in England for which, in accordance with section 1 of the Justices of the Peace Act 19793, there should be a commission of the peace on and after 1st April 1996.

S-4 Where by virtue of an order under section 17 of the Local...

4. Where by virtue of an order under section 17 of the Local Government Act 1992 one or more commission areas are created, abolished or altered, regulation 3 shall have effect in relation to that change with the following modifications:

(a) for every reference to 1st April 1996 there shall be substituted the date on which the order comes into force;

(b) for the reference to section 1 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 there shall be substituted a reference to the order;

(c) at the end of paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the words “until such time as commissions of the peace for the new commission areas are granted”.

S-5 Subject to any order made under section 23 of the Justices of...

5.—(1) Subject to any order made under section 23 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979, every petty sessions area which, immediately before 1st April 1996, was a petty sessional division of a non-metropolitan county in England shall continue in existence on and after that date as a petty sessional division of the relevant area corresponding to that county.

(2) Subject to any order made under section 69 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 19944, every magistrates' courts committee for a non-metropolitan county in England existing immediately before 1st April 1996 shall continue in existence on and after that date as the magistrates' courts committee for the relevant area corresponding to that county.

(3) In this regulation “relevant area” has the meaning given by section 70 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 as amended by paragraph 1(7)(a) of the Schedule to these Regulations, and a relevant area corresponds to a county if it comprises the area of that county as it existed immediately before 1st April 1995.

David Curry

Minister of State

Department of the Environment

5th March 1996

SCHEDULE

Regulation 2

SCHEDULE

1 AMENDMENTS TO ENACTMENTS CONCERNING MAGISTRATES' COURTS

PART I

AMENDMENTS TO ENACTMENTS CONCERNING MAGISTRATES' COURTS

SCH-1.1

1. Justices of the Peace Act 1979

(1) In section 1 of the Justices of the Peace Act 19795

(a)

(a) at the beginning of the section, there shall be inserted—

“Subject to any order made under section 17 of the Local Government Act 1992,”;

(b)

(b) the words “(in this Act referred to as “commission areas”) and no others” shall be repealed;

(c)

(c) the following shall be substituted for paragraph (a)—

“(a)

“(a) every metropolitan county or relevant area in England;”;

(d)

(d) at the end of the section, there shall be inserted—

“and in this Act “commission area” means an area for which there is a commission of the peace.”.

(2) In section 4(1A) of that Act, after “construed” there shall be inserted “, in relation to England, as a reference to a relevant area and”.

(3) In section 12 of that Act—

(a)

(a) subsection (5)(d) shall be repealed;

(b)

(b) the following shall be inserted after subsection (5)(e)—

“(f)

“(f) in relation to any other commission area—

(i) the council of the county or unitary district which is or includes the petty sessions area for which the justice acts, or

(ii) where the justice acts for a petty sessions area which is partly included in two or more counties or unitary districts, the councils of those counties and unitary districts;”;

(c)

(c) in subsection (5A), for “subsection (5)(b)(ii)” there shall be substituted “subsection (5)”, and for “inner London boroughs” there shall be substituted “appropriate authorities”.

(4) In section 19(2)(a) of that Act, for “non-metropolitan county” there shall be substituted“relevant area”.

(5) Section 24 of that Act shall be amended as follows—

(a)

(a) in subsections (1)(a) and (2), for “metropolitan district” there shall be substituted “unitary district”;

(b)

(b) in subsection (6)(a), after “in the county” there shall be inserted “(other than a unitary district)”.

(6) Section 24B of that Act shall be amended as follows—

(a)

(a) in subsections (1)(a) and (2), for “metropolitan district” there shall be substituted “unitary district”;

(b)

(b) in subsection (4)(a), after “in the county” there shall be inserted “(other than a unitary district)”.

(7) Section 70 of that Act shall be amended as follows—

(a)

(a) the following shall be inserted after the definition of “preserved county”—

““relevant area” means the area of a non-metropolitan county created by Part I of the Local Government Act 19726, as it stood immediately before 1st April 1995;”;

(b)

(b) the following shall be inserted at the end of the section—

““unitary district” means a district comprised in an area for which there is no county council.”.

SCH-1.2

2. Magistrates' Courts Act 1980

(1) In section 1(8) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 19807for the words from “any county” to the end there shall be substituted “any commission area in England or preserved county in Wales”.

(2) In section 2(1) and (3) of that Act—

(a)

(a) for “a county in England, a preserved county in Wales, a London commission area or the City of London” there shall be substituted “a commission area in England or a preserved county in Wales”;

(b)

(b) for “the county, the preserved county, the London commission area or the City” there shall be substituted “the commission area or preserved county”.

(3) In section 3(4) of that Act for the words from “any county” to the end there shall be substituted “any commission area in England or preserved county in Wales”.

(4) In section 97(1) of that Act—

(a)

(a) for “any county, any London commission area or the City of London” there shall be substituted “any commission area in England or any county in Wales”;

(b)

(b) for “that county, that London commission area or the City” there shall be substituted “that commission area or county”.

(5) In section 97(1A) of that Act, for “that county, that London commission area or the City”there shall be substituted “that commission area...

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