Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Under section 9(1) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 the Lord Chancellor is required to appoint persons to be lay magistrates for each county court division in Northern Ireland.
This Order provides that, unless the Lord Chancellor otherwise directs in the case of a particular person, a person will not be eligible for appointment as a lay magistrate if –
he does not reside or work in (or within 15 miles of) the county court division to which the appointment relates (article 2(a));
he is the holder of a specified office or has a specified occupation (article 2(b) – (e));
certain persons related to or connected with him hold a specified office or have a specified occupation (article 2(f),(g) and (h));
certain persons related to or connected with him have held a specified office or specified occupation in a preceding two year period (article 2(i));
a bankruptcy order has been made against him or his estate has been sequestrated or he has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors (article 2(j)); or
he has been convicted of an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one month (article 2(k)).