Part VIIIMiscellaneous and supplementary provisions

72Interpretation

(1)

In this Act, except to the extent that the context otherwise requires—

“capital expenditure” means expenditure for capital purposes (construed in accordance with section 40 of the M1Local Government and Housing Act 1989);

“commission area” has the meaning given by section 1 above;

“justices' clerk” means a clerk to the justices for a petty sessions area;

“London commission areas”, “inner London area” and “outer London areas” have the meanings given by section 2 above;

“magistrate”—

(a)

in relation to a commission area, means a justice of the peace for the commission area, other than a justice whose name is for the time being entered in the supplemental list;

(b)

in relation to a part of a commission area, means a person who (in accordance with paragraph (a) of this definition) is a magistrate for that area and ordinarily acts in and for that part of it; and

(c)

in relation to a magistrates' courts committee area, means a person who (in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this definition) is a magistrate for that area or any part of that area;

“magistrates' courts committee area” means the area to which a magistrates' courts committee relates;

“officer” includes the holder of any place, situation or employment, and “office” shall be construed accordingly;

“petty sessional court-house” means—

(a)

a court-house or place at which justices are accustomed to assemble for holding special or petty sessions or for the time being appointed as a substitute for such a court-house or place (including, where justices are accustomed to assemble for either special or petty sessions at more than one court-house or place in a petty sessional division, any such court-house or place); or

(b)

a court-house or place at which a stipendiary magistrate is authorised by law to do alone any act authorised to be done by more than one justice of the peace:

“petty sessions area” has the meaning given by section 4 above;

“preserved county” has the meaning given by section 64 of the M2Local Government (Wales) Act 1994;

“retained county”—

(a)

in relation to England, means the area of a non-metropolitan county created by Part I of the M3Local Government Act 1972, as it stood immediately before 1st April 1995; and

(b)

in relation to Wales, means preserved county;

“stipendiary magistrate” includes a metropolitan stipendiary magistrate;

“the supplemental list” has the meaning given by section 7 above; and

“unitary district” means a district comprised in an area for which there is no county council.

(2)

Any reference in this Act to a retained county by name, where the name is that of a non-metropolitan county in England, is a reference to that county as it stood immediately before 1st April 1995.