{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-magistrates-courts-etc-order-1985/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-magistrates-courts-etc-order-1985/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1985/1383",
  "legislation_title": "The Local Government (Magistrates' Courts etc.) Order 1985",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-magistrates-courts-etc-order-1985",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "In this Order—\n“the 1979 Act” means the Justices of the Peace Act 1979;\n“the 1985 Act” means the Local Government Act 1985;\n“existing magistrates' courts committee” means a magistrates' courts committee under section 19(2)(c) of the 1979 Act as in force immediately before 1st April 1986;\n“existing petty sessions area” means a petty sessions area within the meaning of section 4(2) of the 1979 Act as in force immediately before 1st April 1986;\n“justice” means a justice of the peace and any reference to a justice for a petty sessional division or petty sessions area shall be construed as a reference to a justice who ordinarily acts, or as the case may be, will on and after 1st April 1986 ordinarily act, in and for that division or area;\n“outer London area” means any of the London commission areas specified in section 2(1)(b) to (e) of the 1979 Act;\n“petty sessions area” has, except where the context otherwise requires, the same meaning as in section 4(2)(d) of the 1979 Act as amended by section 12(2) of the 1985 Act as if, as regards a time before 1st April 1986, the said section 12 were then in force.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1985/1383/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T17:03:56.252456+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."
}