{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-act-northern-ireland-1959/section-102",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-act-northern-ireland-1959/section-102.json",
  "legislation": "apni/1959/25",
  "legislation_title": "County Courts Act (Northern Ireland) 1959",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-act-northern-ireland-1959",
  "path": "section/102",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "102",
  "heading": "Appointment and assignment of judges.",
  "text": "(1) Her Majesty may appoint a qualified person to be a judge.\n(2) A judge shall sit in the county court in accordance with directions given by theLord Chief Justice.\n(3) A judge may, in accordance with such directions, sit as a judge in any county court .\n(4) Subject to sub-sections (2) and (3), theLord Chief Justice may assign a judge to one or more division and may from time to time vary any such assignment.\n(5) The judge, or (if more than one) one of the judges, assigned to the division which is or includes—\n(a) the area of the city of Belfast shall be styled the Recorder of Belfast;\n(b) the area of the city of Londonderry shall be styled the Recorder of Londonderry.]\n[(6 In this Act “judge” means a county court judge, that is to say a judge appointed under this section.] and “division” means an administrative court division specified under section 2 of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 for all or the residual purposes of a county court.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 102(1) substituted (12.4.2010) by Northern Ireland Act 2009 (c. 3), ss. 2(4), 5(7)(a), Sch. 5 para. 1; S.I. 2010/812, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 102(2)(4) substituted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 5 para. 8; S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 12(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in s. 102(3) substituted (31.10.2016) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 9), s. 106(2), Sch. 1 para. 51(a) (with Sch. 8 para. 1); S.R. 2016/387, art. 2(k) (with art. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in s. 102(4) substituted (31.10.2016) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 9), s. 106(2), Sch. 1 para. 51(b) (with Sch. 8 para. 1); S.R. 2016/387, art. 2(k) (with art. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 102(5) inserted (16.4.2007) by Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (c. 26), ss. 85, 87, Sch. 12 para. 4(3); S.R. 2007/237, art. 2, Sch. para. 6(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "1980 NI 3"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in s. 102(6) inserted (31.10.2016) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 9), s. 106(2), Sch. 1 para. 51(c) (with Sch. 8 para. 1); S.R. 2016/387, art. 2(k) (with art. 3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1959/25/section/102",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T21:33:09.633949+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}