The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (Irish: Seirbhís Cúirte Thuaisceart Éireann;[1] Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlan Coort Service[2]) runs the courts of Northern Ireland. It is a court administration agency of the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. The Court of Judicature for Northern Ireland, county courts, magistrates’ courts, coroners’ courts and certain tribunals are all administered by the Courts and Tribunals Service. The NICTS employs approximately 830 staff members.[3]
Prior to the devolution of justice matters to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Court Service was a separate legal entity under the Lord Chancellor, established in 1979 pursuant to the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978. To facilitate the devolution of justice matters to the Assembly, the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland was created by the Department of Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2010.[4]
Subsequently, the 'Northern Ireland Court Service' was abolished on the 12th April 2010 by The Northern Ireland Court Service (Abolition and Transfer of Functions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010,[5] with the functions of the Northern Ireland Court Service transferred to the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland as per Article 3.[5]