Rule 3 Interpretation

In these Rules—

• “the Act” means the Constitutional Reform Act 2005;

• “the Court” means the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom;

• “Justice” means a judge of the Court and includes its President and Deputy President;

• “the Registrar” means the Registrar of the Court;

• “the Registry” means the Registry of the Court.

In these Rules, except where the context otherwise requires—

• “appellant” means a person who files an application for permission to appeal or who files a notice of appeal;

• “business day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971^f1, in England and Wales;

• “certificate of service” means a certificate as described in rule 8(5);

• “counsel” includes any person with the right to be heard as an advocate at a full hearing before the Court;

• “court below” means the court from which an appeal (or application for permission to appeal) is made to the Court;

• “court officer” means the Registrar or a member of the court staff;

• “devolution jurisdiction” means the jurisdiction transferred to the Court by section 40 of, and Schedule 9 to, the Act and conferred on the Court under the provisions referred to in rule 44;

• “electronic means” means email or other means of electronic communication of the contents of documents;

• “filing” means filing in the Registry in accordance with rule 7 and related expressions have corresponding meanings;

• “form” and the “appropriate form” have the meanings given by rule 5;

• “key documents bundle” has the meaning given by rule 28;

• “law officer” means, as appropriate to the proceedings—

  1. (a)

     the Attorney General for England and Wales;

  2. (b)

     the Counsel General for Wales;

  3. (c)

     the Advocate General for Scotland and the Lord Advocate; and

  4. (d)

     the Advocate General for Northern Ireland and the Attorney General for Northern Ireland;

• “panel of Justices” means a panel of at least three Justices;

• “party” means an appellant, a respondent, a person participating in a reference and a person who has been given permission to intervene under rule 24 or rule 25;

• “portal”, “portal party” and “non-portal party” have the meanings given by rule 4;

• “respondent” includes a respondent to an application for permission to appeal;

• “service” and related expressions have the meanings given by rule 8;

• “solicitor” includes any person authorised to provide legal services other than as counsel in connection with proceedings before the Court;

• “statement of facts and issues” has the meaning given by rule 27(1).

References in these Rules to a practice direction mean a practice direction issued by the President of the Court.

References in these Rules or in any form to a party’s signing, filing or serving any document or taking any other procedural step include the signature, filing or service of that document or the taking of such other procedural step by the party’s solicitor.

Where any of these Rules or any practice direction requires a document to be signed, that requirement is satisfied if the signature is printed by computer or other mechanical means.

Where these Rules require or permit the Court to perform an act of a formal or administrative character, that act may be performed by a court officer.