Public Records Act 1958

Records of courts and tribunals

4(1)Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, records of the following descriptions shall be public records for the purposes of this Act:—

(a)records of, or held in any department of, the Supreme Court (including any court held under a commission of assize) ;

(b)records of county courts and of any other superior or inferior court of record established since the passing of the County Courts Act, 1846;

(c)records of the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Lancaster and of the Chancery Court of the County Palatine of Durham;

(d)records of courts of quarter sessions ;

(e)records of magistrates' courts ;

(f)records of coroners' courts ;

(g)records of courts-martial held whether within or outside the United Kingdom by any of Her Majesty's forces raised in the United Kingdom ;

(h)records of naval courts held whether within or outside the United Kingdom under the enactments relating to merchant shipping;

(i)records of any court exercising jurisdiction held by Her Majesty within a country outside Her dominions;

(j)records of any tribunal (by whatever name called)—

(i)which has jurisdiction connected with any functions of a department of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom ; or

(ii)which has jurisdiction in proceedings to which such a Government department is a party or to hear appeals from decisions of such a Government department;

(k)records of the Lands Tribunal or of any Rent Tribunal or Local Valuation Court;

(l)records of the Industrial Court, of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal, and of the National Arbitration Tribunal (which was replaced by the Industrial Disputes Tribunal);

(m)records of umpires and deputy-umpires appointed under the National Service Act, 1948, or the Reinstatement in Civil Employment Act, 1944;

(n)records of ecclesiastical courts when exercising the testamentary and matrimonial jurisdiction removed from them by the Court of Probate Act, 1857, and the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857, respectively;

(o)records of such other courts or tribunals (by whatever name called) as the Lord Chancellor may by order contained in a statutory instrument specify.

(2)This paragraph shall not apply to any court or tribunal whose jurisdiction extends only to Scotland or Northern Ireland.

(3)In this paragraph " records " includes records of any proceedings in the court or tribunal in question and includes rolls, writs, books, decrees, bills, warrants and accounts of, or in the custody of, the court or tribunal in question.