Part II Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure
Domestic proceedings
66 Composition of magistrates" courts for domestic proceedings: general.
1
Subject to the provisions of this section, a magistrates’ court when hearing F1family proceedingsshall be composed of not more than 3 justices of the peace, including, so far as practicable, both a man and a woman.
2
Subsection (1) above shall not apply to a magistrates’ court for an inner London petty sessions area, and, notwithstanding anything in section 67 below, for the purpose of exercising jurisdiction to hear F1family proceedingssuch a court shall be composed of—
a
a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate as chairman and one or 2 lay justices who are members of the F2family panelfor that area; or
b
2 or 3 lay justices who are members of that panel;
or, if it is not practicable for such a court to be so composed, the court shall for that purpose be composed of a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate sitting alone.
3
Where in pursuance of subsection (2) above a magistrates’ court includes lay justices it shall, so far as practicable, include both a man and a woman.
4
In the preceeding provisions of this section “lay justices” means justices of the peace for the inner London area who are not metropolitan stipendiary magistrates.
5
In this section “inner London petty sessions area” means the City of London or any petty sessional division of the inner London area.