(1)Where any summons or other process issued from a county court is served by an officer of a court, the service may be proved by a certificate in a prescribed form under the hand of that officer showing the fact and mode of the service.
(2)Any officer of a court wilfully and corruptly giving a false certificate under subsection (1) in respect of the service of a summons or other process shall be guilty of an offence and, on conviction thereof, shall be removed from office and shall be liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding 2 years; or
(b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both such imprisonment and fine.
(1)All summonses issuing out of a county court, and all such other documents so issuing as may be prescribed, shall be sealed or stamped with the seal of the court.
(2)All such summonses and other documents purporting to be so sealed shall, in England and Wales, be received in evidence without further proof.
Any person who—
(a)delivers or causes to be delivered to any other person any paper falsely purporting to be a copy of any summons or other process of a county court, knowing it to be false; or
(b)acts or professes to act under any false colour or pretence of the process or authority of a county court;
shall be guilty of an offence and shall for each offence be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years.
(1)It shall not be lawful to deliver or cause to be delivered to any person any document which was not issued under the authority of a county court but which, by reason of its form or contents or both, has the appearance of having been issued under such authority.
(2)If any person contravenes this section, he shall for each offence be liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(3)Nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice section 135.
(1)Every lessee to whom there is delivered any summons issued from a county court for the recovery of land demised to or held by him, or to whose knowledge any such summons comes, shall forthwith give notice of the summons to his lessor or his bailiff or receiver.
(2)If a lessee fails to give notice as required by subsection (1), he shall be liable to forfeit to the person of whom he holds the land an amount equal to the value of 3 years’ improved or rack rent of the land to be recovered by action in any county court or other court having jurisdiction in respect of claims for such an amount.