Article 110 Evidence required for withdrawal of petition
Before leave for the withdrawal of an Assembly election petition is granted, there shall be produced affidavits—
by all the parties to the petition and their solicitors, and
where the petition does not relate to a return under section 9 of the 1998 Act, by the election agents of all those parties who were candidates at the election,
but the High Court may on cause shown dispense with the affidavit of any particular person if it seems to the court on special grounds just so to do.
Each affidavit shall state that, to the best of the deponent’s knowledge and belief—
no agreement or terms of any kind whatsoever has or have been made, and
no undertaking has been entered into, in relation to the withdrawal of the petition,
but if any lawful agreement has been made with respect to the withdrawal of the petition, the affidavit shall set forth that agreement and shall make the foregoing statement subject to what appears from the affidavit.
The affidavits of the applicant and his solicitor shall further state the ground on which the petition is sought to be withdrawn.
Copies of those affidavits shall be delivered to the Director of Public Prosecutions a reasonable time before the application for the withdrawal is heard, and the court—
may hear the Director of Public Prosections or his assistant or other representative in opposition to the allowance of the withdrawal of the petition, and
shall have power to receive the evidence on oath of any person or persons whose evidence the Director of Public Prosections or his assistant, or other representative, may consider material.
Where more than one solicitor is concerned for the petitioner or respondent, whether as agent for another solicitor or otherwise, the affidavit shall be made by all such solicitors.
The jurisdiction vested by paragraph (1) in the High Court shall, subject to rules of court, be exercised by one of the judges for the time being on the rota for the trial of parliamentary election petitions sitting either in court or at chambers, or may be exercised by a master of the Supreme Court in manner directed by and subject to appeal to those judges.