Rule 2 InterpretationI1

In these Rules—

• F1...

• “the Act of 1980” means the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980;

• ...

• F2“the Act of 2000” means the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000;

• F3“the Act of 1998” means the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;

• F4“justices' legal adviser” means a person nominated by the Lord Chancellor who is authorised to exercise functions under section 28(1) of the Courts Act 2003;

• F5“business day” means any day other than—

  1. (a)

     a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday; or

  1. (b)

     a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, in England and Wales;

• “child” means a person who has not attained the age of 18;

• F6...

• F7“court computer system” means a computer or computer system which is used to assist to discharge and record the business of the court.

• F8“domestic abuse protection notice” has the same meaning as in section 22 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (power to give a domestic abuse protection notice);

• “domestic abuse protection order” has the same meaning as in section 27 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (meaning of “domestic abuse protection order”);

• “electronic signature” is as much of anything in electronic form as

  1. (a)

     is incorporated into or otherwise logically associated with any electronic communication or electronic data; and

  2. (b)

     purports to be so incorporated or associated for the purpose of being used in establishing the authenticity of the communication or data, the integrity of the communication or data, or both.

• “judgment summons” has the meaning assigned to it by rule 58.

• F9“live link” means an arrangement by which—

  1. (a)

     a person (P) taking part in proceedings can hear, or can see and hear, every other person taking part in those proceedings who is not in the same location as P; and

  2. (b)

     all those other people can hear, or can see and hear, P;

• F10“the Schedule 12 procedure” means the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (taking control of goods and selling them to recover a sum of money).

In these Rules “representation order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 14 of the Access to Justice Act 1999.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In these Rules a reference to “the authorised persons for the area in which they are employed” is a reference to the persons employed by an authority which performs its functions within that area who are authorised to execute warrants within that area in pursuance of F14rule 3 of the Magistrates' Courts (Civilian Fine Enforcement Officers)(No. 2) Rules 1990.

Any requirement in these Rules that a document shall be in the prescribed form shall be construed as a requirement that the document shall be in the form prescribed in that behalf by rules made under section 144 of the Act of 1980, or a form to like effect.

In these Rules any reference to a rule shall be construed as a reference to a rule contained in these Rules; and any reference in a rule to a paragraph shall be construed as a reference to a paragraph of that rule.

Subject to rules 15 and 99, where these Rules require a document to be given or sent, or a notice to be communicated in writing, it may, with the consent of the addressee, be sent by electronic communication.

Electronic communication means a communication transmitted (whether from one person to another, from one device to another or from a person to a device or vice versa)—