County courts and magistrates’ courts now exercise jurisdiction throughout Northern Ireland under reforms that took effect yesterday.

The single jurisdiction reforms, provided for by the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, end the division of Northern Ireland into county court divisions and petty sessions districts.

The structure has been replaced with three new Administrative Court Divisions (ACDs), which do not define jurisdiction but determine the area in which business will “usually” be heard.

The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, has issued guiding principles which broadly preserve the current practice in allocating and distributing business.

In an update, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service said: “We do not envisage that the introduction of single jurisdiction will result a significant shift in business: the vast majority of business will continue to be routinely listed at the current location.

“However, the new arrangements will afford additional flexibility to list business in a different Division where the judge (or the Lord Chief Justice) determines that there is good reason to do so.

“The Office of the Lord Chief Justice will wish to monitor the impact of a single jurisdiction following commencement in October and the Lord Chief Justice may choose to further revise his Listing Direction.

“The introduction of bespoke arrangements for particular types of business (e.g. family business; weekend and public holiday courts; pilot court initiatives etc) is likely to be phased in.”