Finance Act 2003

3 (1) Where the General or Special Commissioners have jurisdiction in respect of a matter, the Lord Chancellor may make regulations for determining— U.K.

(a) whether the General or Special Commissioners, or both of them, are to have the jurisdiction, and

(b) if both of them are to have the jurisdiction, how it is to be divided between them.

(2) Where the General Commissioners have jurisdiction in respect of a matter, the General Commissioners for that division which is determined in accordance with regulations made by the Lord Chancellor under this paragraph are to have the jurisdiction.

(3) The Lord Chancellor may make regulations—

(a) providing that, in certain circumstances, the Special Commissioners are to have jurisdiction in respect of a matter instead of the General Commissioners or the General Commissioners are to have jurisdiction instead of the Special Commissioners;

(b) providing that, in certain circumstances, the General Commissioners for one division are have to jurisdiction in respect of a matter instead of the General Commissioners for another division.

[F1 (4) The Lord Chancellor may make regulations under this paragraph only after consulting all of the following—

(a) the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales;

(b) the Lord President of the Court of Session;

(c) the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

(5) The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise his functions under this paragraph.

(6) The Lord President of the Court of Session may nominate a judge of the Court of Session who is a member of the First or Second Division of the Inner House of that Court to exercise his functions under this paragraph.

(7) The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland may nominate any of the following to exercise his functions under this paragraph—

(a) the holder of one of the offices listed in Schedule 1 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002;

(b) a Lord Justice of Appeal (as defined in section 88 of that Act).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 17 para. 3(4)-(7) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), s. 148(1), Sch. 4 para. 307(3); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(x)