{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-declarations-of-parentage-rules-northern-ireland-2002/article-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-declarations-of-parentage-rules-northern-ireland-2002/article-3.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2002/158",
  "legislation_title": "Magistrates' Courts (Declarations of Parentage) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2002",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-declarations-of-parentage-rules-northern-ireland-2002",
  "path": "article/3",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "In these Rules—\n(a) “the Allocation Order” means the Declarations of Parentage (Allocation of Proceedings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002;\n(b) “business day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday which is, or is to be observed as, a bank holiday in Northern Ireland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;\n(c) “document exchange” means any document exchange for the time being approved by the Lord Chancellor;\n(d) “family care centre” shall be construed in accordance with Article 3 of the Allocation Order;\n(e) “file” means deposit with the clerk of petty sessions;\n(f) “first class post” means first-class post which has been pre-paid or in respect of which pre-payment is not required;\n(g) “the Order” means the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1989;\n(h) “parties” means the applicant and respondent; and\n(i) any reference to a Form is a reference to the Form in the Schedule to these Rules.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": "prospective",
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Rule 3 in operation at 20.5.2002, see rule 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.R. 2002 No. 119"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "1971 c. 80"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "S.I. 1989/677 (N.I. 4)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "coming into force",
      "affecting": "nisr/2002/158",
      "affecting_title": "Magistrates' Courts (Declarations of Parentage) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2002"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2002/158/article/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:07:46.426854+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."
}