Wales and Cheshire Region Practice Direction

The following direction applies to cases transferred or committed from Magistrates Courts in Wales where as a result of listing or other arrangements it is contemplated that the case may be tried in Chester or at another location outside Wales.

In accordance with the Practice Direction issued by the Lord Chief Justice in [1998] 1 WLR 1677, all cases involving evidence to be given in the Welsh Language should wherever practicable be heard in Wales. If for any reason any such case committed for trial or sentence or transferred from a Magistrates Court in Wales cannot be heard in Wales, then the case must be referred to one of the Presiding Judges. No hearing or trial in that case can take place in a court outside Wales without the express consent of one of the Presiding Judges. The Presiding Judge must be provided with:

1. Detailed information about the case.

2. The scope of the intended use of the Welsh Language.

3. Information about the views of the Prosecution and Defence about the hearing/trial and the use of Welsh.

4. The name of the Judge who is to hear the case.

Consent to the hearing of a case outside Wales will be on the basis that it is heard by the Judge specifically nominated for that case; no other Judge may hear that case without a further reference being made to one of the Presiding Judges.

No Judge other than a Judge designated on the list provided by the Circuit Administrator as approved to try cases in the Welsh language may try any case involving the use of the Welsh language, unless the consent of one of the Presiding Judges or the liaison Judge for the Welsh language (Judge Roderick Evans QC) has been specifically obtained.

This supplementary Direction takes immediate effect and applies to any hearings or trials that take place after the date of this supplementary Direction.

28 February 2000

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