Local justice areas are units in England and Wales established by the Courts Act 2003, replacing and directly based on the previous petty sessions areas. They have been in existence since 2005.
Contents
- Avon and Somerset
- Bedfordshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cheshire
- Cleveland
- Durham
- Cumbria
- Derbyshire
- Devon and Cornwall
- Dorset
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Greater London
- Greater Manchester
- Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
- Hertfordshire
- Humberside
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire and Rutland
- Lincolnshire
- Merseyside
- Norfolk
- Northamptonshire
- Northumbria Northumberland and Tyne and Wear
- North Yorkshire
- Nottinghamshire
- South Yorkshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey
- Sussex
- Thames Valley Berkshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire
- Warwickshire
- West Mercia Herefordshire Shropshire Worcestershire
- West Midlands
- West Yorkshire
- Wiltshire
- Wales
- References
Local justice areas are used to determine which magistrates' courts may hear a particular case. Specifically, cases may only be heard in courts which are in:
The areas established were identical to the petty sessions areas. They have since been amended by the merger of South Pembrokeshire and North Pembrokeshire to a single Pembrokeshire local justice area, and the merger of De Maldwyn and Welshpool to a single Montgomeryshire local justice area - this change will came into force in 2006, although the magistrates already shared the same courtroom.
A further amendment occurred in 2006 when the areas of Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Drayton were combined to become a new area named Shrewsbury and North Shropshire. The areas of Telford and Bridgnorth and South Shropshire were also combined to become a new area named Telford and South Shropshire.
Each local justice area is part of a larger courts board area, which replaced the magistrates' courts committee areas with the inauguration of Her Majesty's Courts Service in 2005.
Avon and Somerset
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cleveland
Durham
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon and Cornwall
Dorset
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater London
Greater Manchester
Hampshire (and the Isle of Wight)
Consolidated in 1993 - see [2]
Hertfordshire
Humberside
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire (and Rutland)
Lincolnshire
Merseyside
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumbria (Northumberland and Tyne and Wear)
North Yorkshire
Nottinghamshire
South Yorkshire
Staffordshire
Source: [3]
Suffolk
Surrey
Proposal now to merge all Surrey Courts