The Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

Powers of youth courts in relation to persons who are not or who cease to be children

30.—(1) A youth court sitting for the purpose of hearing a charge against a person who is believed to be a child may, if it thinks fit to do so, proceed with the hearing and determination of the charge, notwithstanding that it is discovered that the person in question is not a child.

(2) Where any proceedings in respect of a child are commenced before a youth court and he attains the age of 17 before the conclusion of the proceedings, the court may continue to deal with the case and make any order which it could have made if he had not attained that age; and for the purposes of this paragraph proceedings taken in consequence of any default shall be deemed to be part of the original proceedings.

(3) The attainment of the age of 17 by a person in respect of whom a community order or an order for conditional discharge has been made, shall not deprive a youth court of jurisdiction either to enforce his attendance and deal with him in respect of any failure to comply with the requirements of the community order or the commission of a further offence, or to amend or discharge the community order.

(4) In this Article—

“default” means failure to pay, or want of sufficient distress to satisfy, any fine or other sum of money, or failure to do or abstain from doing any thing required to be done or left undone;

“the original proceedings” means the proceedings in which the fine was imposed or other sum awarded or the thing was ordered to be done or left undone.