Section 2 Preliminary inquiry into scheduled offences.

Where in any proceedings before a magistrates’ court for a scheduled offence (not being an extra-territorial offence as defined in section 1(3) of the M1Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975) the prosecutor requests the court to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the offence under the M2Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, the court shall, notwithstanding anything in Article 31 of that Order, conduct a preliminary inquiry into the offence unless the court is of opinion that in the interests of justice a preliminary investigation should be conducted into the offence under that Order.

Where in any proceedings a person charged with a scheduled offence is also charged with another offence which is not a scheduled offence, that other offence shall be treated as a scheduled offence for the purposes of this section.