(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order provides that, unless the Lord Chancellor otherwise determines in the case of a particular person, a person will not be eligible for appointment as a Lay Magistrate under section 9(1) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 if –

(1)

he does not reside or work in (or within 15 miles of) the county court division to which the appointment relates (Article 2(a));

(2)

he is the holder of a specified office or has a specified occupation (Article 2(b) – (e));

(3)

certain persons related to or connected with him hold a specified office or have a specified occupation (Article 2(f) and (g));

(4)

he or certain persons related to or connected with him have held a specified office or specified occupation in a preceding two year period (Article 2(h));

(5)

a bankruptcy order has been made against him or his estate has been sequestrated or he has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his creditors (Article 2(i)); or

(6)

he has been convicted of an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment (Article 2(j)).