Section 253 Interpretation of Part 10: general

In this Part—

• “appropriate care or treatment”, in relation to a person, means care or treatment which is (or care and treatment which are) appropriate in that person's case;

• “appropriate establishment” has the meaning given by section 167;

• “approved medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner approved by RQIA for the purposes of this Part;

• “custodial sentence” has the same meaning as in Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (see Article 4(1) of that Order);

• “disorder” has the meaning given by section 252;

• “hospital direction” has the meaning given by section 174;

• “hospital transfer direction” has the meaning given by section 224;

• “interim detention order” has the meaning given by section 177;

• “juvenile justice centre” has the meaning given by Article 51(1) of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998;

• “the period” of a public protection order without restrictions has the meaning given by section 181;

• “prison” has the same meaning as in the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953;

• “public protection order” has the meaning given by section 167;

• “public protection order with restrictions” has the meaning given by that section;

• “public protection order without restrictions” has the meaning given by that section;

• “remand centre” has the meaning given by section 2(b) of the Treatment of Offenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1968;

• “the responsible medical practitioner”, in relation to a person liable to be detained in a hospital or other establishment by virtue of this Part, means the medical practitioner who is in charge of the person's care (see also subsection (2));

• “supervision and assessment order” has the meaning given by paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7;

• “young offenders centre” has the meaning given by section 2(a) of the Treatment of Offenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1968.

Regulations may provide that the medical practitioner in charge of a person's care may carry out prescribed functions of the responsible medical practitioner under this Part only if—

Any reference in this Part to an offence punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment includes a reference to an indictable offence which may be tried summarily.

For the avoidance of doubt, a remand, order or direction of a court under this Part is not to be regarded for the purposes of section 2 or any other purpose of this Act as an act done or decision made for or on behalf of a person.

See also sections 304 to 306 (definitions for purposes of Act).