NI Courts move to single jurisdiction
From 31st October 2016, the courts in Northern Ireland will operate as a single jurisdiction. Reference will no longer be made to County Court Divisions and Petty Session districts.
Impact of this change on court proceedings
Existing proceedings will not be affected by this change, but any practitioner issuing new proceedings will need to use the correct forms and ensure that proceedings are issued in the correct Administrative Court Division (ADC). Court templates have been adapted and certain constructs, such as the words “County Court Division of…” and “Petty Sessions District of…” will not longer appear on court orders or other court documentation. Practitioners will need to review their own procedures and any templates used in their own practice to ensure they comply with the new requirements. An ACD Guide has been made available by the Courts and Tribunals Service. This guide includes examples of how the changes will appear on court orders.
The new ACDs are:
- North Eastern Division
- South Eastern Division and
- Western Division.
Each ACD is sub-divided into local government district, district electoral area and ward and indicates the venue where the case may be listed for hearing by court tier.
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