Section 151 Interpretation of this Act, and rules of construction for other Acts and documents.E1

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “action” means any civil proceedings commenced by writ or in any other manner prescribed by rules of court;

• “appeal”, in the context of appeals to the civil division of the Court of Appeal, includes—

  1. (a)

     an application for a new trial, and

  2. (b)

     an application to set aside a verdict, finding or judgment in any cause or matter in the High Court which has been tried, or in which any issue has been tried, by a jury;

• F1“arbitration agreement” has the same meaning as it has in the F2Part I of the Arbitration Act 1996;

• “cause” means any action or any criminal proceedings;

• “Division”, where it appears with a capital letter, means a division of the High Court;

• “judgment” includes a decree;

• “jurisdiction” includes powers;

• “matter” means any proceedings in court not in a cause;

• “party”, in relation to any proceedings, includes any person who pursuant to or by virtue of rules of court or any other statutory provision has been served with notice of, or has intervened in, those proceedings;

• “prescribed” means—

  1. (a)

     except in relation to fees, prescribed by rules of court; F3. . .

  2. (b)

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

• F4“qualifying judge advocate” means—

  1. (a)

     the Judge Advocate General; or

  2. (b)

     a person appointed under section 30(1)(a) or (b) of the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1951 (assistants to the Judge Advocate General);

• F5“senior judge”, where the reference is to the senior judge of a Division, means the president of that Division;

• “solicitor” means a solicitor of the F6Senior Courts;

• “statutory provision” means any enactment, whenever passed, or any provision contained in subordinate legislation (as defined 0 in section 21(1) of the M1Interpretation Act 1978), whenever made;

• “this or any other Act” includes an Act passed after this Act.

Section 128 contains definitions of expressions used in Part V and in the other provisions of this Act relating to probate causes and matters.

Any reference in this Act to rules of court under section 84 includes a reference to rules of court under any provision of this or any other Act which confers on the F7Civil Procedure Rule Committee F8... power to make rules of court F9in relation to the Senior Courts.

Except where the context otherwise requires, in this or any other Act—

• F10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “divisional court” (with or without capital letters) means a divisional court constituted under section 66;

• “judge of the Senior Courts” means—

  1. (a)

     a judge of the Court of Appeal other than an ex-officio judge within paragraph (b) or (c) of section 2(2), or

  2. (b)

     a judge of the High Court,

  and accordingly does not include, as such, a judge of the Crown Court;

• “official referees’ business” has the meaning given by section 68(6);

• F12 “Rules of the Senior Courts” means rules of court made by the Senior Courts Rules Committee.

The provisions of Schedule 4 (construction of references to superseded courts and officers) shall have effect.