The Act Commentary on Sections Part 3 - Criminal evidence, investigations and procedure Section 97: Interpretation of this Chapter
489.This section defines terms which are used in this Chapter of the Act. Subsection (2) ensures that where the court that makes a witness anonymity order is a magistrates’ court, it will be open to any magistrates’ court in the same local justice area (or the same petty sessions district in Northern Ireland) to discharge or vary the order, not only the court that originally made the order. There might otherwise be difficulties if, for example, a member of the court that made the order were to retire.