§ 35. Hugh RobertsonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement about the nationality requirements for appointment as a justice of the peace. [57413]
§ Yvette CooperAs the hon. Member may know, my noble and learned Friend recently discovered that 22 people have been appointed as magistrates contrary to the nationality requirements of the Act of Settlement 1701. This Act requires people seeking a place of trust under the Crown to hold citizenship of Britain, Eire or a Commonwealth country. We are considering ways to allow the 22 people to return to sitting at the earliest opportunity.