The Life Sentence Review Commissioners' Rules 2001

Part V Miscellaneous

Time

20.  Where the time prescribed by or under these rules for doing any act expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in Northern Ireland, the act shall be done in time if done on the next working day.

Transmission of documents etc

21.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), any document required or authorised by these rules to be served on or otherwise transmitted to any person may be sent by pre-paid post or delivered:—

(a) in the case of a document directed to the Commissioners, to the office of the Commissioners;

(b) in the case of a document directed to the Secretary of State, to the Northern Ireland Prison Service Headquarters;

(c) in any other case, to the last known address of the person to whom the document is directed.

(2) Service of any document required to be served or otherwise transmitted under these rules may be effected by FAX where:—

(a) the technical facilities are available to the parties and the parties consent to and agree upon mode of service;

(b) the parties agree the specified FAX numbers to which the document is transmitted; and

(c) not later than one day after service by FAX, the party serving the document dispatches a copy of it to the other party or parties, as required by these rules, by any of the means prescribed for service under paragraph (1), and if he fails to do so, the document shall be deemed never to have been served by FAX.

(3) Where the FAX is transmitted on a working day before 5.00 pm it shall, unless the contrary is shown, be deemed to be served on that day, and, in any other case, on the working day next following.

(4) In this rule “FAX” means the making of a facsimile copy of a document by the transmission of electronic signals.

Irregularities

22.  Any irregularity resulting from a failure to comply with these rules, or with any rule of practice for the time being in force, which occurs before a panel has determined a case shall not of itself render the proceedings void, unless the Commissioners or a panel shall so direct, but such proceedings may be set aside either wholly or in part as irregular, or amended or otherwise dealt with in such manner and upon such terms as the Commissioners or the panel shall think fit.

Clerical mistakes and slips

23.  Clerical mistakes in any document recording decisions under these rules, or errors arising in such document from an accidental slip or omission, may be corrected by the chairman of the panel by certificate under his hand or, with the consent of the parties, by written certification of the Commissioners.