Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991 (No. 1)

Section 9.

SCHEDULE 5 Amendment of Ecclesiastical Judges and Legal Officers Measure 1976

1 The [1976 No.2.] Ecclesiastical Judges and Legal Officers Measure 1976 shall be amended as follows.

2 In section 3 (office of registrar of a province)—

(a) after subsection (4) there shall be inserted the following subsections—

“(4A) The registrar of a province may, with the consent of the archbishop of the province, appoint a fit and proper person to act as deputy registrar of the province for such period and for such purpose as may be specified in the instrument of appointment; and during that period and for that purpose a person so appointed shall have all the powers and duties of the registrar.

(4B) Where the registrar of a province ceases to hold that office, a person appointed to act as deputy registrar under subsection (4A) above shall cease to hold that office when a new registrar is appointed.

(4C) If, in the opinion of the archbishop of the province concerned, the registrar of the province is for any reason unable or unwilling to perform the duties of a registrar or it would be inappropriate for him to perform those duties and there is no person appointed to act as deputy registrar under subsection (4A) above able to perform those duties, the archbishop may request the registrar of the other province to appoint a fit and proper person to perform those duties for such period as the instrument of appointment may specify; and during that period a person so appointed shall have all the powers and duties of the registrar of the first-mentioned province.”;

(b) in subsection (5) after the word “office” there shall be inserted the words “or to act as deputy registrar”.

3 In section 4 (office of the registrar of a diocese) at the end there shall be inserted the following subsections—

“(5A) The registrar of a diocese may, with the consent of the bishop of the diocese, appoint a fit and proper person to act as deputy registrar of the diocese for such period and for such purpose as may be specified in the instrument of appointment; and during that period and for that purpose a person so appointed shall have all the powers and duties of the registrar.

(5B) Where the registrar of a diocese ceases to hold that office, a person appointed to act as deputy registrar under subsection (5A) above shall cease to hold that office when a new registrar is appointed.

(5C) If, in the opinion of the bishop of the diocese concerned, the registrar of the diocese is for any reason unable or unlikely to perform the duties of a registrar or it would be inappropriate for him to perform those duties and there is no person appointed to act as deputy registrar under subsection (5A) above able to perform those duties, the bishop may request the registrar of the province within which the diocese is situated to appoint a fit and proper person to perform those duties for such period as the instrument of appointment may specify; and during that period a person so appointed shall have all the powers and duties of the registrar of the diocese.

(5D) If the registrar of the diocese concerned is also the registrar of the province within which the diocese is situated the reference in subsection (5C) above to the registrar of the province within which the diocese is situated shall be construed as a reference to the registrar of the other province.”.