{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-representation-of-the-people-northern-ireland-regulations-2008/regulation-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-representation-of-the-people-northern-ireland-regulations-2008/regulation-3.json",
  "legislation": "ukdsi/2008/9780110814674",
  "legislation_title": "The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-representation-of-the-people-northern-ireland-regulations-2008",
  "path": "regulation/3",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—\n“the 1962 Act” means the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962;\n“the 1983 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1983;\n“the 1985 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1985;\n“the 1989 Act” means the Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989;\n“the 2000 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 2000;\n“the 2002 Act” means the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002;\n“the 2006 Act” means the Electoral Administration Act 2006;\n“available for inspection” means available for inspection during ordinary office hours;\n“British Council employee” means a person employed by the British Council in a post outside the United Kingdom;\n“candidate” has the same meaning as section 118A of the 1983 Act;\n“copy of a birth certificate” means—\n(a) in relation to a birth certificate issued in Northern Ireland, a certified copy of a birth entry issued by the Registrar General of Births and Deaths in Northern Ireland;\n(b) in relation to a birth certificate issued in England or Wales, a certified copy of a birth entry issued by the Registrar General for England and Wales;\n(c) in relation to a birth certificate issued in Scotland, an extract of a birth entry issued by the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages for Scotland; and\n(d) in relation to a birth certificate issued elsewhere, a copy certified by the issuing authority;\n“Crown servant” means a person who is employed in a post falling within the class or description set out in regulation 16;\n“data” means information which is recorded with the intention that it should be processed by means of equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose;\n“edited register” has the meaning given in regulation 93(1);\n“elections rules” means the parliamentary elections rules in Schedule 1 to the 1983 Act;\n“European Parliamentary overseas elector” means a peer who has made a European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration and is registered or is entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;\n“European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration” means a declaration made in pursuance of section 2 of the 1985 Act, as applied by regulation 14 of, and Schedule 4 to, these Regulations;\n“full register” has the meaning given in regulation 93(1);\n“list of overseas electors” means the list prepared under regulation 53;\n“local elector” and “local election” have the same meaning as in section 130(1) of the 1962 Act;\n“Miscellaneous Provisions Act” means the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006;\n“overseas elector” means a person who has made an overseas elector’s declaration and is registered or entitled to be registered as a parliamentary elector in pursuance of it;\n“specified authorities” means authorities set out in regulation 42(2);\n“specified information” means information set out in regulation 42(3) to (6);\n“register” means the register of electors;\n“registration area” means the area covered by a particular register; and\n“registration officer” means the electoral registration officer.\n(2) A reference in these Regulations to a form identified by means of an alphabetical letter shall be construed as a reference to the form so identified in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.\n(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a provision of the 1983 Act which has been applied by section 2(1) of, and Schedule 1 to, the 1989 Act shall include a reference to that provision as so applied and with any modifications specified in Part II of that Schedule.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1962 c.14 (N.I.)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1985 c.50."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "1989 c.3."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "2000 c.2."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "2002 c.13."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f6",
      "text": "Section 118A was inserted by section 135(2) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c.41)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f7",
      "text": "2006 c.33."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f8",
      "text": "Schedule 1 has been amended by Schedule 3 to the 2000 Act, section 7 of the 2002 Act and Schedule 4 to the Miscellaneous Provisions Act."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780110814674/regulation/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:16:26.596223+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."
}