47(1)Subject to section 2 of the Family Law Act 1986 (c. 55) and section 70 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) and any determination of the Lord Chancellor, a magistrates' court has jurisdiction to hear an application for an order under this Schedule if it acts in, or is authorised by the Lord Chancellor to act for, a local justice area in which either the applicant or the respondent ordinarily resides at the date of the making of the application.
(2)Any jurisdiction conferred on a magistrates' court by this Schedule is exercisable even if any party to the proceedings is not domiciled in England and Wales.
[F1(3)The Lord Chancellor may make a determination for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) only with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice.
(4)The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this paragraph.]
Textual Amendments