Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Explanatory Notes

Judiciary and Courts in Northern Ireland

Section 10: The Lord Chancellor and Northern Ireland Courts

26.Section 10 provides for a new section to be inserted into the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978, corresponding to section 1 of the Courts Act 2003. It places a statutory duty on the Lord Chancellor to ensure there is an efficient and effective system to support the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland and the county courts, magistrates’ courts and coroners’ courts in Northern Ireland and to ensure that appropriate services are provided for those courts. It also requires the Lord Chancellor to lay before Parliament a report as to the way in which this duty has been discharged.

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