{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-act-2003/section-66",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-act-2003/section-66.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2003/39",
  "legislation_title": "Courts Act 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-act-2003",
  "path": "section/66",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "66",
  "heading": "Judges having powers of District Judges (Magistrates' Courts)",
  "text": "(1) Every holder of a judicial office specified in subsection (2) has the powers of a justice of the peace who is a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) in relation to—\n(a) criminal causes and matters,...\n(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(2) The offices are—\n(a) judge of the High Court;\n(aa) Master of the Rolls;\n(ab) ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal;\n(ac) Senior President of Tribunals;\n(b) deputy judge of the High Court;\n(c) Circuit judge;\n(d) deputy Circuit judge;\n(e) recorder.\n(f) Chamber President, or Deputy Chamber President, of a chamber of the Upper Tribunal or of a chamber of the First-tier Tribunal;\n(g) judge of the Upper Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007;\n(h) transferred-in judge of the Upper Tribunal (see section 31(2) of that Act);\n(i) deputy judge of the Upper Tribunal (whether under paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to, or section 31(2) of, that Act);\n(j) office listed—\n(i) in the first column of the table in section 89(3C) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (senior High Court Masters etc), or\n(ii) in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to that Act (High Court Masters etc);\n(k) district judge (which, by virtue of section 8(1C) of the County Courts Act 1984, here includes deputy district judge appointed under section 8 of that Act);\n(l) deputy district judge appointed under section 102 of the Senior Courts Act 1981;\n(m) judge of the First-tier Tribunal by virtue of appointment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 2 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007;\n(n) transferred-in judge of the First-tier Tribunal (see section 31(2) of that Act);\n(o) member of a panel of Employment Judges established for England and Wales or for Scotland.\n(2A) A qualifying judge advocate has the powers of a justice of the peace who is a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) in relation to criminal causes and matters.\n(3) For the purposes of section 45 of the 1933 Act, every holder of a judicial office specified in subsection (2) is qualified to sit as a member of a youth court.\n(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(5) In this section “ qualifying judge advocate ” means—\n(a) the Judge Advocate General; or\n(b) a person appointed under section 30(1)(a) or (b) of the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1951 (assistants to the Judge Advocate General).\n(6) Subsection (2A) is without prejudice to the powers conferred by this section on a person within subsection (2) where that person is also a qualifying judge advocate.\n(7) This section does not give a person any powers that a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) may have to act in a court or tribunal that is not a magistrates' court.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 66(1)(b) and word in s. 66(1)(a) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 10 para. 90(a); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(d) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "S. 66(2)(aa)-(ac) inserted (1.10.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 14 para. 4(2); S.I. 2013/2200, art. 3(g)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "S. 66(2)(f)-(o) inserted (1.10.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 14 para. 4(3); S.I. 2013/2200, art. 3(g)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "S. 66(2A) inserted (2.4.2012) by Armed Forces Act 2011 (c. 18), s. 32(3), Sch. 2 para. 6(a); S.I. 2012/669, art. 4(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "S. 66(4) omitted (22.4.2014) by virtue of Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 10 para. 90(b); S.I. 2014/954, art. 2(d) (with art. 3) (with transitional provisions and savings in S.I. 2014/956, arts. 3-11)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "S. 66(5)(6) inserted (2.4.2012) by Armed Forces Act 2011 (c. 18), s. 32(3), Sch. 2 para. 6(b); S.I. 2012/669, art. 4(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "S. 66(7) inserted (1.10.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 14 para. 4(4); S.I. 2013/2200, art. 3(g)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 66 partly in force; s. 66 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 110(1)(2); s. 66(1)(a)(2)(3) in force at 26.1.2004 by S.I. 2003/3345, art. 2(a)(iv)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/39/section/66",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:17:53.122162+00:00",
    "licence": "OGL-UK-3.0",
    "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."
  }
}