{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981/section-6",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981/section-6.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1981/54",
  "legislation_title": "Senior Courts Act 1981",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981",
  "path": "section/6",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "6",
  "heading": "The Patents, Admiralty and Commercial Courts.",
  "text": "(1) There shall be as part of the Business and Property Division—\n(a) a Patents Court,\n(b) an Admiralty Court, and\n(c) a Commercial Court.\n(2) The judges of the Patents Court, of the Admiralty Court and of the Commercial Court shall be such of the puisne judges of the High Court as the Lord Chief Justice may, after consulting the Lord Chancellor, from time to time nominate to be judges of the Patents Court, Admiralty Judges and Commercial Judges respectively.\n(3) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under subsection (2).",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 6(1) substituted (1.10.2026) by The Senior Courts (Transfer, Amendment and Consequential Provision) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/723), arts. 1(2), 2(3)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 6(2) substituted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 119(2); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(j)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "S. 6(3) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 119(3); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(j)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/54/section/6",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:13:48.516361+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."
}