{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-northern-ireland-order-1980/article-40",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-northern-ireland-order-1980/article-40.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1980/397",
  "legislation_title": "County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/county-courts-northern-ireland-order-1980",
  "path": "article/40",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "40",
  "heading": "Third and subsequent parties",
  "text": "(1) In any action where—\n(a) a defendant claims to be entitled to contribution or indemnity from or other relief over against another defendant or any person not a party to the action (in this Article referred to as a “third party”);\n(b) a third party makes a like claim against any other person, whether a party to the action or not (in this Article referred to as a “fourth party”),\na county court shall have jurisdiction to grant, subject to county court rules, any such relief as may be granted in the like case by the High Court to a defendant or third party.\n(2) Subject to county court rules, the practice and procedure as between a defendant and a third party and as between a third party and a fourth party shall be the same as the practice and procedure as between a plaintiff and defendant.\n(3) County court rules shall apply the foregoing provisions of this Article to—\n(a) any action wherein a fourth party makes, as such, a claim against another person not a party to the action; and\n(b) any action wherein any subsequent like claims are made successively.\n(4) A party shall not be prejudiced or unnecessarily delayed in the prosecution of his claim by reason of questions between other parties in which he is not concerned.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1980/397/article/40",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:52:38.739072+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."
}