The Magistrates' Courts (Sex Offender and Anti-social Behaviour Orders) Rules 1998

Citation, interpretation and commencement

1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Magistrates' Courts (Sex Offender and Anti-social Behaviour Orders) Rules 1998.

(2) In these Rules any reference to a numbered section is a reference to the section so numbered in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998(1).

(3) These Rules, except rules 6 and 7 below and Schedules 4 to 6, shall come into force on 1st December 1998.

(4) Rules 6 and 7 below and Schedules 4 to 6 shall come into force on 1st April 1999.

Sex offender orders

2.—(1) An application for a sex offender order under section 2 shall be in the form set out in Schedule 1 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

(2) Any summons directed to the defendant requiring him to appear before a magistrates' court to answer such an application shall be in the form set out in Schedule 2 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

(3) A sex offender order shall be in the form set out in Schedule 3 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

3.—(1) This rule applies to the making of an application for the variation or discharge of a sex offender order.

(2) An application to which this rule applies shall be made in writing to the magistrates' court which made the order and shall specify the reason why the applicant for variation or discharge believes the court should vary or discharge the order, as the case may be.

(3) Where the court considers that there are no grounds upon which it might conclude that the sex offender order should be varied or discharged, as the case may be, it may determine the application without hearing representations from the applicant for variation or discharge or any other person.

(4) Where the court considers that there are grounds upon which it might conclude that the order should be varied or discharged, as the case may be, the clerk to that magistrates' court shall, unless the application is withdrawn, issue a summons giving not less than fourteen days' notice in writing of the date, time and place appointed for the hearing of the application to the applicant for the sex offender order and the defendant, inviting them to make observations and advising them of their right to be heard at the hearing.

(5) The clerk shall send with the summons under paragraph (4) above a copy of the application for variation or discharge of the sex offender order to the recipients of that summons, apart from the applicant for variation or discharge.

4.  Where, after the hearing of an application to which rule 3 above applies, the court either dismisses the application, varies the sex offender order or discharges it by further order, the clerk of the court shall send a copy of the order dismissing the application, or varying or discharging the sex offender order, as the case may be, to each of the recipients of the notice under rule 3(4) above.

5.  Any summons or copy of an order required to be sent under these Rules to the defendant shall be either given to him in person or sent by first class post to his last known address and, if so given or sent, shall be deemed to have been received by him.

Anti-social behaviour orders

6.—(1) An application for an anti-social behaviour order under section 1 shall be in the form set out in Schedule 4 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

(2) Any summons directed to the defendant requiring him to appear before a magistrates' court to answer such an application shall be in the form set out in Schedule 5 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

(3) An anti-social behaviour order shall be in the form set out in Schedule 6 to these Rules or a form to the like effect.

7.—(1) Rules 3 to 5 above shall apply in respect of an anti-social behaviour order or an application for such an order as they apply in respect of a sex offender order or an application for such an order, subject to paragraph (2) below.

(2) In the application under paragraph (1) above of rules 3 to 5 above, the summons under rule 3(4) shall also be sent to any relevant authority, within the meaning of section 1, other than the applicant for the order, and any reference in those rules to the recipients of that summons shall be taken to include such an authority.

Irvine of Lairg, C.

Dated 30th October 1998