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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>64560</law_id><section_number>16.1-69.5</section_number><catch_line>Meaning of certain terms</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>17.1-292</reference><reference>2.2-3703</reference><reference>2.2-3815</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="16.1">Courts Not of Record</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="4.1">District Courts</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="1">Transition Provisions</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>Unless the context should otherwise require, the terms set out in this section shall be construed as follows:</p></section>
						<section id="a"><p><span class="prefix-number">a.</span> &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Courts not of record</span>&#x201D; shall mean all courts in the Commonwealth below the jurisdictional level of the <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> courts including <span class="dictionary">general district courts</span> and <span class="dictionary">juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span>; <a id="paragraph-234950" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#a"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="b"><p><span class="prefix-number">b.</span> &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">General district courts</span>&#x201D; shall mean all <span class="dictionary">courts not of record</span>, except <span class="dictionary">juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span> in counties and cities heretofore designated as county and municipal courts; <a id="paragraph-234951" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#b"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="c"><p><span class="prefix-number">c.</span> &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span>&#x201D; shall mean all courts in counties and cities heretofore designated as juvenile and domestic relations courts or regional juvenile and domestic relations courts; <a id="paragraph-234952" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#c"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="d"><p><span class="prefix-number">d.</span> &#x201C;District courts&#x201D; shall mean <span class="dictionary">general district courts</span> and <span class="dictionary">juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span>; <a id="paragraph-234953" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#d"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="e"><p><span class="prefix-number">e.</span> &#x201C;County courts&#x201D; and &#x201C;municipal courts&#x201D; shall be deemed to refer to <span class="dictionary">general district courts</span>; <a id="paragraph-234954" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#e"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="f"><p><span class="prefix-number">f.</span> &#x201C;Juvenile and domestic relations courts&#x201D; and &#x201C;regional juvenile and domestic relations courts&#x201D; shall be deemed to refer to <span class="dictionary">juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span>; and <a id="paragraph-234955" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#f"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="g"><p><span class="prefix-number">g.</span> &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Chief judge</span>&#x201D; shall mean that judge so designated for a term to assume primary administrative responsibility for the <span class="dictionary">general district courts</span> or the <span class="dictionary">juvenile and domestic relations district courts</span> in the district served by such judge. <a id="paragraph-234956" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/16.1-69.5/#g"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>1972, c. 708; 1973, c. 546; 1975, c. 334.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
