Children and Young Persons Act 1933

SCHEDULE 2

Part I Outside Metropolitan Area Youth court panels 1 The following provisions of this Part of this Schedule shall have effect as respects petty sessions areas falling wholly outside the area consisting of the inner London boroughs and the City of London. Qualification to sit as member of youth court. 2 A justice shall not be qualified to sit as a member of a youth court unless he is (a) a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts), or (b) a member of a youth court panel, that is to say, a panel of justices specially qualified to deal with juvenile cases. Constitution by single District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) 2A A youth court may consist of a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) sitting alone. Youth court panels. 3 Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Schedule, a youth court panel shall be formed for every petty sessions area. Combined youth court panels 4 A magistrates’ courts committee may make recommendations to the Lord Chancellor— (a) for the formation of a combined youth court panel for two or more petty sessions areas, or (b) for the dissolution of any such combined youth court panel, if the committee’s area comprises at least one of the petty sessions areas concerned. 5 It shall be the duty of the magistrates’ courts committee for any area, if directed to do so by the Lord Chancellor, to review the functioning of youth courts in their area and on completion of the review to submit to the Lord Chancellor either a report making such recommendations as are mentioned in paragraph 4 of this Schedule or a report giving reasons for making no such recommendations. 6 Subject to the provisions of this Schedule— (a) where a magistrates’ courts committee make such recommendations to the Lord Chancellor, he may after consulting the Lord Chief Justice make an order giving effect to them subject to any modifications he thinks fit after consulting the Lord Chief Justice; and (b) where a magistrates’ courts committee fail to comply within six months with a direction of the Lord Chancellor under the preceding paragraph, or Lord Chancellor is dissatisfied with the report submitted in pursuance of such a direction, he may , after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, make such order as he thinks fit , after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, for the purposes mentioned in paragraph 4 of this Schedule. Effect of order establishing combined panel 7 Where a combined youth court panelis formed for any petty sessions areas any justice who is a member of the panel may exercise in relation to each of the areas any jurisdiction exercisable by him as a member of a youth court. Restrictions on formation of combined panels 8 No order under this Schedule shall provide for the formation of a combined youth court panel for an area unless the area consists of, or is wholly included in, a single commission area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8A 9 An order under this Schedule providing for the formation of a combined youth court panel for an area which comprises a borough having a separate magistrates’ courts committee shall not be made except with the consent of every magistrates’ courts committee the whole or part of whose area is included in the area for which the combined panel is formed. Consultations and notices 10 A magistrates’ courts committee, before submitting recommendations for an order under this Schedule, shall consult and, when submitting any such recommendations, shall give notice to— (a) the justices acting for any petty sessions area concerned which is within the committee’s area (except where the committee’s area is a borough); and (b) any other magistrates’ courts committee the whole or part of whose area is concerned; and shall also consult the said justices before commenting on any recommendations on which they are consulted under this paragraph by another magistrates’ courts committee. 11 Where the Lord Chancellor proposes to make an order under this Schedule in a case where either no recommendations have been made to him or the proposed order departs from the recommendations made to him, he shall send a copy of the proposed order to the magistrates’ courts committee for any area the whole or part of which is concerned and to the justices acting for any petty sessions area concerned. 12 Where notice of recommendations or a copy of a proposed order is required to be sent under the preceding paragraphs to any justices or committee, the Lord Chancellor shall, before making an order, consider any representations made to him by the justices or committee, or by any youth court panel concerned, within one month from the time the notice was given or the copy of the proposed order was sent. Part II Metropolitan Area 13 The following provisions of this Part of this Schedule shall have effect as respects the area consisiting of the petty sessions areas falling wholly or partly within the area consisting of the inner Londodn boroughs and the City of London (in this Part of this Schedule referred to as the metropolitan area). 14 Youth courts shall be constituted for the whole of the metropolitan area but shall sit for such divisions and in such places as the Lord Chancellor may , after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, by order specify, without prejudice, however, to their jurisdiction with respect to the whole area. 15 Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule— (a) each youth courtshall either consist of a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate sitting alone orconsist of a chairman and two other members and . . . have both a man and a woman among its members; (b) the chairman (where applicable)shall be a person nominated by the Lord Chief Justice, after consulting the Lord Chancellor, to act as chairman of youth courts for the metropolitan area and shall be either a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate or a lay justice for the inner London area selected, in such manner as may be provided by an order made by the Lord Chief Justice after consulting the Lord Chancellor, from a panel of such justices from time to time nominated by him; and (c) the other members (where applicable) shall be justices so selected from that panel. 15A (1) Where, in the the case of any sitting of a youth court, a person nominated under paragraph 15(b)of this Schedule— (a) is available to act as chairman; but (b) considers that it would be appropriate for another member of the court to act as chairman, he may nominate that member to act as chairman at that sitting. (2) A member of a youth court nominated to act as chairman under sub-paragraph (1) shall only so act while the person making the nomination continues to sit as a member of the court. 16 If at any time, by reason of illness or other emergency, no person nominated under paragraph 15(b) of this Schedule is available to act as chairman of a youth court, any metropolitan stipendiary magistrate or, with the consent of the Lord Chief Justice, given after consulting the Lord Chancellor, any justice of the peace selected as aforesaid from the said panel, may act temporarily as chairman. 17 Where it appears to the chairman that a youth court cannot, without adjournment, be fully constituted, and that an adjournment would not be in the interests of justice, the chairman may sit with one other member (whether a man or a woman) . . .. 18 The Lord Chief Justice, in nominating any persons under this Part of this Schedule shall have regard to the previous experience of the persons available and their special qualifications for dealing with juvenile cases; and every such nomination shall be for a specified period and shall be revocable by the Lord Chief Justice, after consulting the Lord Chancellor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Part III General 20 An order of the Lord Chancellor under this Schedule shall be made by statutory instrument and may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order thereunder. 21 Any such order may contain supplementary, incidental and consequential provisions. 22 The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this Schedule.