The European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004

Election agents of individual candidates

Appointment of election agent for individual candidate

38.—(1) Not later than the latest time for the delivery of notices of withdrawals for an election, a person shall be named by or on behalf of each individual candidate as the individual candidate’s election agent, and the name and address of the individual candidate’s election agent shall be declared in writing by the individual candidate or some other person on his behalf to the appropriate officer not later than that time.

(2) An individual candidate may name himself as election agent, and upon doing so shall, so far as circumstances admit, be subject to the provisions of these Regulations both as an individual candidate and as an election agent, and, except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to an election agent shall be construed to refer to the individual candidate acting in his capacity of election agent.

(3) One election agent only shall be appointed for each individual candidate, but the appointment, whether the election agent appointed be the individual candidate himself or not, may be revoked.

(4) If (whether before, during or after the election) the appointment (or deemed appointment) of an election agent is revoked or an election agent dies, another election agent shall be appointed forthwith and his name and address declared in writing to the appropriate officer.

(5) The declaration as an individual candidate’s election agent of a person other than the individual candidate shall be of no effect under this regulation unless it is made and signed by that person or is accompanied by a written declaration of acceptance signed by him.

(6) Upon the name and address of an election agent being declared to the appropriate officer, the appropriate officer shall forthwith give public notice of that name and address.

Appointment of sub-agent for individual candidate

39.—(1) An election agent for an individual candidate may appoint to act in any part of the electoral region one, but not more than one, deputy election agent (in these Regulations referred to as a sub-agent).

(2) As regards matters in a part of the electoral region for which there is a sub-agent the election agent may act by the sub-agent and—

(a)anything done for the purposes of these Regulations by or to the sub-agent in his part of the electoral region shall be deemed to be done by or to the election agent; and

(b)any act or default of a sub-agent which, if he were the election agent, would be an illegal practice or other offence against these Regulations shall be an illegal practice and offence against these Regulations committed by the sub-agent, and the sub-agent shall be liable to punishment accordingly.

(3) Not later than the fifth day before the day of the poll the election agent shall declare in writing the name and address of every sub-agent to the appropriate officer, and the appropriate officer shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address of every sub-agent so declared.

(4) The appointment of a sub-agent—

(a)shall not be vacated by the election agent who appointed him ceasing to be election agent, but

(b)may be revoked by whoever is for the time being the individual candidate’s election agent,

and in the event of the revocation of the appointment or of the death of a sub-agent another sub-agent may be appointed, and his name and address shall be forthwith declared in writing to the appropriate officer, who shall forthwith give public notice of the name and address so declared.

(5) The declaration to be made to the appropriate officer, and the notice to be given by him, under paragraph (3) or paragraph (4) shall specify the part of the electoral region within which any sub-agent is appointed to act.

(6) In paragraphs (2) to (4) references to an election agent are to an election agent of an individual candidate.

Office of election agent and sub-agent for individual candidate

40.—(1) Every election agent and every sub-agent shall have an office to which all claims, notices, writs, summonses and legal process and other documents may be sent, and the address of the office shall be—

(a)declared to the appropriate officer at the same time as the appointment of the agent is declared to him; and

(b)stated in the public notice of the name of the agent.

(2) The office of the elections agent or sub-agent shall be within the United Kingdom or, in the case of a candidate standing for election in the combined region, Gibraltar.

(3) Any claim, notice, writ, summons or legal process or other document delivered at the office of the election agent or sub-agent and addressed to him, shall be deemed to have been served on him and every election agent or sub-agent may in respect of any matter connected with the election in which he is acting be sued in any court having jurisdiction at the place where his office is situated.

(4) In this regulation, references to an election agent and sub-agent are to an election agent or sub-agent of an individual candidate.

Effect of default in election agent’s appointment

41.—(1) If no person’s name and address is given as required by regulation 38 as the election agent of an individual candidate who remains validly nominated at the latest time for delivery of notices of withdrawals, the individual candidate shall be deemed at that time to have named himself as election agent and to have revoked any appointment of another person as his election agent.

(2) If—

(a)the person whose name and address have been so given as those of the individual candidate’s election agent (not being the individual candidate himself) dies, and

(b)a new appointment is not made on the day of the death or on the following day, the individual candidate shall be deemed to have appointed himself as from the time of death.

(3) If the appointment of an individual candidate’s election agent is revoked without a new appointment being made, the individual candidate himself shall be deemed to have been appointed (or re-appointed) election agent.

(4) The deemed appointment of an individual candidate as his own election agent may be revoked as if it were an actual appointment.

(5) Where an individual candidate is by virtue of this regulation to be treated as his own election agent, he shall be deemed to have his office at his address as given in the statement as to persons nominated.

(6) The appropriate officer on being satisfied that an individual candidate is by virtue of this regulation to be treated as his own election agent, shall forthwith proceed to publish the like notice as if the name and address of the individual candidate and the address of his office had been duly given to him under regulations 38 and 40.