{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-rules-northern-ireland-1984/rule-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-rules-northern-ireland-1984/rule-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/1984/225",
  "legislation_title": "Magistrates’ Courts Rules (Northern Ireland) 1984",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-rules-northern-ireland-1984",
  "path": "rule/2",
  "kind": "rule",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Rules “the Order” means the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.\n(2) Any reference in these Rules to members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland shall include a reference to members of the Reserve on duty with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.\n(3) In these Rules:—\n“administrative court division” means such division specified under section 2 of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 for any purposes of a county court;\n(a) “a chief clerk” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(2) of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980; and\n[(aa “criminal justice organisation” means any one of the following organisations—\n(i) Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service;\n(ii) Police Service of Northern Ireland; or\n(iii) Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland;\n(ab) “data sharing mechanism” is an electronic mechanism which allows criminal justice organisations to share information with each other electronically;\n(ac) “electronic report” means a report generated by the computer system of a criminal justice organisation which is shared with other criminal justice organisations through a data sharing mechanism and which shall contain information as prescribed in Rule 11 (7A)(b);]\n(b) [... ];\n[(c “the 1999 Order” means the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999].\n[(d “the 1999 Act” means the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999].\n[(e “the 2004 Order” means the Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004].\n(4) Any reference in the Rules to a Form by number is a reference to that Form so numbered in Schedule 1.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in rule 2 inserted (31.10.2016) by The Magistrates’ Courts (Amendment No. 2) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/304), rules 1, 3(1); S.R. 2016/387, art. 2(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "S.I. 1980/397 (N.I. 3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Inserted by S.R. 2009 No. 47 with effect from 10.4.09"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "Rule 2(3)(b) omitted by S.R. 2008 No. 251 with effect from 16.07.08"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "Inserted by S.R. 2003 No. 296 with effect from 30.6.03"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "Inserted by S.R. 2004 No. 299 with effect from 26.7.04"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f6",
      "text": "Inserted by S.R. 2005 No. 162 with effect from 18.04.05"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1984/225/rule/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T03:32:12.928261+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."
}