Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service

The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (Irish: Seirbhís Cúirte Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlan Coort Service) runs the courts of Northern Ireland. It is an agency of the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. The Court of Judicature for Northern Ireland, county courts, magistrates’ courts, coroners’ courts and certain tribunals are all administered by the Courts and Tribunals Service.

Prior to the devolution of justice matters to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Court Service was a separate legal entity under the Lord Chancellor, established in 1979 pursuant to the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978.