Senior Courts Act 1981

29[F1Mandatory, prohibiting and quashing orders]E+W

[F2(1)The orders of mandamus, prohibition and certiorari shall be known instead as mandatory, prohibiting and quashing orders respectively.

(1A)The High Court shall have jurisdiction to make mandatory, prohibiting and quashing orders in those classes of case in which, immediately before 1st May 2004, it had jurisdiction to make orders of mandamus, prohibition and certiorari respectively.]

(2)Every such order shall be final, subject to any right of appeal therefrom.

(3)In relation to the jurisdiction of the Crown Court, other than its jurisdiction in matters relating to trial on indictment, the High Court shall have all such jurisdiction to make [F3mandatory, prohibiting or quashing orders] as the High Court possesses in relation to the jurisdiction of an inferior court.

[F4(3A)The High Court shall have no jurisdiction to make [F3mandatory, prohibiting or quashing orders] in relation to the jurisdiction of a court-martial in matters relating to—

(a)trial by court-martial for an offence, or

(b)appeals from a Standing Civilian Court;

and in this subsection “court-martial” means a court-martial under the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 or the Naval Discipline Act 1957.]

(4)The power of the High Court under any enactment to require justices of the peace or a judge or officer of a county court to do any act relating to the duties of their respective offices, or to require a magistrates’ court to state a case for the opinion of the High Court, in any case where the High Court formerly had by virtue of any enactment jurisdiction to make a rule absolute, or an order, for any of those purposes, shall be exercisable by [F5mandatory order].

[F6(5)In any statutory provision—

(a)references to mandamus or to a writ or order of mandamus shall be read as references to a mandatory order;

(b)references to prohibition or to a writ or order of prohibition shall be read as references to a prohibiting order;

(c)references to certiorari or to a writ or order of certiorari shall be read as references to a quashing order; and

(d)references to the issue or award of a writ of mandamus, prohibition or certiorari shall be read as references to the making of the corresponding mandatory, prohibiting or quashing order.]

[F7(6)In subsection (3) the reference to the Crown Court’s jurisdiction in matters relating to trial on indictment does not include its jurisdiction relating to orders under section 17 of the Access to Justice Act 1999.]