3

1

An assistant clerk may be employed as a clerk in court only if he—

a

is a barrister or solicitor of the Senior Courts or has passed the necessary examinations for either of those professions or has been granted an exemption in relation to any examination by the appropriate examining body;

b

is in employment as an assistant which is registered by the Law Society as a training contract under regulation 23 of the Training Regulations 19903;

c

holds a valid training certificate granted by a magistrates’ courts committee before 1st January 1999; or

d

acted as a clerk in court before 1st January 1999 and was qualified to act as such under the Justices’ Clerks (Qualification of Assistants) Rules 19794 as they stood immediately before 1st January 1999.

2

In this regulation “training certificate” means a certificate granted in accordance with rule 5(2) of and Schedule 3 to the Justices’ Clerks (Qualifications of Assistants) Rules 1979 as they stood immediately before 1st January 1999, and the validity and duration of a training certificate granted before that date shall be determined as if those provisions were still in force.

3

Until the coming into force of section 59(1) of the Constitutional Reform Act 20055 the reference in paragraph 1(a) to the Senior Courts is to be read as a reference to the Supreme Court.