Senior Courts Act 1981

District registries and district registrarsE+W

99 District registries.E+W

(1)The Lord Chancellor may [F1, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice,] by order direct that there shall be district registries of the High Court at such places and for such districts as are specified in the order.

(2)Any order under this section shall be made by statutory instrument, which shall be laid before Parliament after being made.

[F2(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 this section.]

[F3100 District judgesE+W

(1)The Lord Chief Justice, after consulting the Lord Chancellor—

(a)may assign a district judge to one or more district registries;

(b)may change an assignment so as to assign the district judge to a different district registry or registries (or to no district registry).

(2)A reference in any enactment or other instrument to the district judge of a district registry is a reference to any district judge assigned to the registry concerned.

(3)Every district judge is, by virtue of his office, capable of acting in any district registry whether or not assigned to it, but may do so only in accordance with arrangements made by or on behalf of the Lord Chief Justice.

(4)Whilst a district judge is assigned to one or more district registries in accordance with subsection (1) he is a district judge of the High Court.]

F4101. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

102 Deputy district registrars.E+W

(1)If it appears to the Lord Chancellor that it is expedient to do so in order to facilitate the disposal of business in the High Court, he may appoint a person to be a [F7deputy district judge] in any district registry during such period or on such occasions as the Lord Chancellor thinks fit.

(2)Subject to subsection (3), a person shall not be qualified for appointment as a [F7deputy district judge] unless he is, or is qualified for appointment as, a [F8district judge for a county court district].

(3)A person may be appointed as a [F7deputy district judge] if he would, but for his age, be qualified for appointment as a [F8district judge for a county court district] and he has previously held the office of [F8district judge for a county court district][F9; but no appointment by virtue of this subsection shall be such as to extend beyond the day on which the person in question attains the age of seventy-five years.]

[F10(4)A person appointed to be a deputy district judge in a district registry has, while acting under this section, the same jurisdiction as a district judge assigned to that registry.]

[F11(5)Subsection (6) of section 91 applies in relation to a deputy district judge appointed under this section as it applies in relation to a person appointed under that section.]

(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F12

F13103. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E+W