Part 13: Procedures in courts and tribunals Section 202: Expedited procedure for initial regulations about remote observation of proceedings
Section 202 makes provision to enable the first set of regulations made under the power conferred by new section 85A(8) of the Courts Act 2003 inserted by section 198 to be made subject to the made affirmative procedure, rather than the draft affirmative procedure for which the amendment made by section 198(6) provides. This will enable regulations to be in place to ensure that there is no gap in coverage for transmission of remote proceedings between the expiry of the Coronavirus Act provisions which sections 198 and 199 will replace, and the coming into force of the new provisions, should that prove necessary.
	Subsection (1) provides that section 202 applies to the first regulations under new section 85A(8) of the Courts Act 2003 (and so will not apply to any subsequent regulations under that power, which will be subject to the draft affirmative procedure for which the amendment made by section 198(6) provides). Subsection (2) provides that the first regulations may (but do not have to be) made without first having been laid in draft before each House of Parliament. This, taken with the following subsections, allows for the "made affirmative" procedure to be adopted should that be necessary to avoid a gap in coverage, but for the draft affirmative procedure to be used instead if there is no risk of such a gap.
	Subsections (3) and (4) provide for the made affirmative procedure for the regulations should the option provided by subsection (2) be taken: the regulations must be laid before Parliament after being made (subsection (3)) and will cease to have effect after 28 days beginning with the day on which they are made if they have not before then been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament (subsection (4)). Subsection (5) makes provision for calculating the 28-day period (days during prorogation or dissolution, or any period of recess for either House which lasts more than four days are disregarded); and subsection (6) provides for a saving for anything done under the regulations should they cease to have effect under subsection (4), and makes it clear that should the regulations cease to have effect, that will not prevent the making of fresh regulations (which would be subject to draft affirmative procedure).