PART IGENERAL

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Public Limited-Liability Company Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 8th October 2004.

EC Directive and EC Regulation

2.  In these Regulations –

“the EC Directive” means Council Directive 2001/86/EC(1) of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees;

“the EC Regulation” means Council Regulation 2157/2001/EC(2) of 8 October 2001 on the Statute for a European Company;

and references to numbered Articles are, unless otherwise specified, references to Articles in the EC Regulation.

Interpretation

3.—(1) In these Regulations –

the “1986 Order” means the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986(3);

the “1996 Order” means the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996(4);

“SE” means a European Public Limited–Liability Company (or Societas Europaea) within the meaning of the EC Regulation and, except as provided in these Regulations, means an SE which is to be, or is, registered in Northern Ireland.

(2) Words and expressions listed in the index of defined expressions in Article 2A(5) of the 1986 Order have the same meaning as they have in that Order.

(3) Words and expressions which are used in the EC Regulation or the EC Directive have the same meaning as they have in that Regulation or Directive.

(4) Where a word or expression is both listed in the index of defined expressions referred to in paragraph (2) and used in the EC Regulation or the EC Directive, it has the meaning it has in that Regulation or Directive.

(5) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(6) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.