Criminal Justice and Courts Bill (HL Bill 30)

(3) Where no appeal would lie to the relevant appellate court from the
decision of the Upper Tribunal except with the permission (or leave) of
the Upper Tribunal or the relevant appellate court, no certificate may
be granted under section 14A in respect of a decision of the Upper
5Tribunal unless it appears to the Upper Tribunal that it would be a
proper case for giving permission (or leave) to appeal to the relevant
appellate court.

(4) No certificate may be granted under section 14A in respect of a decision
or order of the Upper Tribunal made by it in the exercise of its
10jurisdiction to punish for contempt.”

48 Appeals from the Employment Appeal Tribunal to the Supreme Court

In the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, after section 37 insert—

“37A Appeals to Supreme Court: grant of certificate by Appeal Tribunal

(1) If the Appeal Tribunal is satisfied that—

(a) 15the conditions in subsection (4) or (5) are fulfilled in relation to
the Appeal Tribunal’s decision or order in any proceedings, and

(b) as regards that decision or order, a sufficient case for an appeal
to the Supreme Court has been made out to justify an
application under section 37B,

20the Appeal Tribunal may grant a certificate to that effect.

(2) The Appeal Tribunal may grant a certificate under this section only on
an application made by a party to the proceedings.

(3) The Appeal Tribunal may not grant a certificate under this section in
the case of proceedings in Scotland.

(4) 25The conditions in this subsection are that a point of law of general
public importance is involved in the decision or order of the Appeal
Tribunal and that point of law is—

(a) a point of law that—

(i) relates wholly or mainly to the construction of an
30enactment or statutory instrument, and

(ii) has been fully argued in the proceedings and fully
considered in the judgment of the Appeal Tribunal in
the proceedings, or

(b) a point of law—

(i) 35in respect of which the Appeal Tribunal is bound by a
decision of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court in
previous proceedings, and

(ii) that was fully considered in the judgments given by the
Court of Appeal or, as the case may be, the Supreme
40Court in those previous proceedings.

(5) The conditions in this subsection are that a point of law of general
public importance is involved in the decision or order of the Appeal
Tribunal and that—

(a) the proceedings entail a decision relating to a matter of national
45importance or consideration of such a matter,

(b) the result of the proceedings is so significant (whether
considered on its own or together with other proceedings or
likely proceedings) that, in the opinion of the Appeal Tribunal,
a hearing by the Supreme Court is justified, or

(c) 5the Appeal Tribunal is satisfied that the benefits of earlier
consideration by the Supreme Court outweigh the benefits of
consideration by the Court of Appeal.

(6) No appeal lies against the grant or refusal of a certificate under
subsection (1).

37B 10Appeals to Supreme Court: permission to appeal

(1) If the Appeal Tribunal grants a certificate under section 37A in relation
to any proceedings, a party to those proceedings may apply to the
Supreme Court for permission to appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

(2) An application under subsection (1) must be made—

(a) 15within one month from the date on which the certificate is
granted, or

(b) within such time as the Supreme Court may allow in a
particular case.

(3) If on such an application it appears to the Supreme Court to be
20expedient to do so, the Supreme Court may grant permission for such
an appeal.

(4) If permission is granted under this section—

(a) no appeal from the decision or order to which the certificate
relates lies to the Court of Appeal, but

(b) 25an appeal lies from that decision or order to the Supreme Court.

(5) An application under subsection (1) is to be determined without a
hearing.

(6) Subject to subsection (4), no appeal lies to the Court of Appeal from a
decision or order of the Appeal Tribunal in respect of which a certificate
30is granted under section 37A until—

(a) the time within which an application can be made under
subsection (1) has expired, and

(b) where such an application is made, that application has been
determined in accordance with this section.

37C 35Appeals to Supreme Court: exclusions

(1) No certificate may be granted under section 37A in respect of a decision
or order of the Appeal Tribunal in any proceedings where, by virtue of
any enactment (other than sections 37A and 37B), no appeal would lie
from that decision or order of the Appeal Tribunal to the Court of
40Appeal, with or without the leave or permission of the Appeal Tribunal
or the Court of Appeal.

(2) No certificate may be granted under section 37A in respect of a decision
or order of the Appeal Tribunal in any proceedings where, by virtue of
any enactment, no appeal would lie from a decision of the Court of
45Appeal on that decision or order of the Appeal Tribunal to the Supreme
Court, with or without the leave or permission of the Court of Appeal
or the Supreme Court.

(3) Where no appeal would lie to the Court of Appeal from the decision or
order of the Appeal Tribunal except with the leave or permission of the
Appeal Tribunal or the Court of Appeal, no certificate may be granted
under section 37A in respect of a decision or order of the Appeal
5Tribunal unless it appears to the Appeal Tribunal that it would be a
proper case for granting leave or permission to appeal to the Court of
Appeal.

(4) No certificate may be granted under section 37A where the decision or
order of the Appeal Tribunal is made in the exercise of its jurisdiction
10to punish for contempt.”

49 Appeals from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to the Supreme
Court

(1) The Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 is amended as follows.

(2) Before section 8 insert—

“7B 15Appeals to Supreme Court: grant of certificate by Commission

(1) If the Special Immigration Appeals Commission is satisfied that—

(a) the conditions in subsection (4) or (5) are fulfilled in relation to
a final determination to which section 7(1) or (1A) applies, and

(b) in respect of that final determination, a sufficient case for an
20appeal to the Supreme Court has been made out to justify an
application under section 7C,

the Commission may grant a certificate to that effect.

(2) The Commission may grant a certificate under this section only on an
application made by a party to the appeal or review to which the final
25determination relates.

(3) The Commission may not grant a certificate under this section if the
final determination is made by the Commission in Scotland.

(4) The conditions in this subsection are that a point of law of general
public importance is involved in the final determination and that point
30of law is—

(a) a point of law that—

(i) relates wholly or mainly to the construction of an
enactment or statutory instrument, and

(ii) has been fully argued in the proceedings on the appeal
35or review to which the final determination relates and
fully considered in the judgment of the Commission, or

(b) a point of law—

(i) in respect of which the Commission is bound by a
decision of the appropriate appeal court or the Supreme
40Court in previous proceedings, and

(ii) that was fully considered in the judgments given by the
appropriate appeal court or, as the case may be, the
Supreme Court in those previous proceedings.

(5) The conditions in this subsection are that a point of law of general
45public importance is involved in the final determination and that—

(a) the proceedings entail a decision relating to a matter of national
importance or consideration of such a matter,

(b) the result of the proceedings is so significant (whether
considered on its own or together with other proceedings or
5likely proceedings) that, in the opinion of the Commission, a
hearing by the Supreme Court is justified, or

(c) the Commission is satisfied that the benefits of earlier
consideration by the Supreme Court outweigh the benefits of
consideration by the Court of Appeal.

(6) 10No appeal lies against the grant or refusal of a certificate under
subsection (1).

7C Appeals to Supreme Court: permission to appeal

(1) If the Special Immigration Appeals Commission grants a certificate
under section 7B in relation to a final determination, a party to the
15appeal or review to which the final determination relates may apply to
the Supreme Court for permission to appeal directly to the Supreme
Court.

(2) An application under subsection (1) must be made—

(a) within one month from the date on which that certificate is
20granted, or

(b) within such time as the Supreme Court may allow in a
particular case.

(3) If on such an application it appears to the Supreme Court to be
expedient to do so, the Supreme Court may grant permission for such
25an appeal.

(4) If permission is granted under this section—

(a) no appeal from the final determination to which the certificate
relates lies to the appropriate appeal court, but

(b) an appeal lies from that determination to the Supreme Court.

(5) 30An application under subsection (1) is to be determined without a
hearing.

(6) Subject to subsection (4), no appeal lies to the appropriate appeal court
from a final determination of the Commission in respect of which a
certificate is granted under section 7B until—

(a) 35the time within which an application can be made under
subsection (1) has expired, and

(b) where such an application is made, that application has been
determined in accordance with this section.

7D Appeals to Supreme Court: exclusions

(1) 40No certificate may be granted under section 7B in respect of a final
determination of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission where,
by virtue of any enactment (other than sections 7B and 7C), no appeal
would lie from that decision of the Commission to the appropriate
appeal court, with or without the leave or permission of the
45Commission or the appropriate appeal court.

(2) No certificate may be granted under section 7B in respect of a final
determination of the Commission where, by virtue of any enactment,
no appeal would lie from a decision of the appropriate appeal court on
that determination of the Commission to the Supreme Court, with or
5without the permission or leave of the appropriate appeal court or the
Supreme Court.

(3) Where no appeal would lie to the appropriate appeal court from a final
determination of the Commission except with the leave or permission
of the Commission or the appropriate appeal court, no certificate may
10be granted under section 7B in respect of a final determination unless it
appears to the Commission that it would be a proper case for granting
leave to appeal to the appropriate appeal court.

(4) No certificate may be granted under section 7B in respect of a decision
or order of the Commission made by it in the exercise of its jurisdiction
15to punish for contempt.”

(3) In section 1(4) (challenges to decisions of the Commission), after “section 7”
insert “and sections 7B to 7D”.

(4) In section 7(3) (appeals from the Commission: definition of “the appropriate
appeal court”), after “In this section” insert “and sections 7B to 7D”.

(5) 20In section 8 (procedure on applications for leave to appeal)—

(a) in subsection (1), at the end insert “or for the grant of a certificate under
section 7B”, and

(b) in subsection (2), omit “for leave to appeal”.

(6) In the heading of section 8, after “leave to appeal” insert “etc”.

25Costs in civil proceedings

50 Wasted costs in certain civil proceedings

(1) Section 51 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (costs in civil division of Court of
Appeal, High Court, family court and county court) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (7) (wasted costs) insert—

“(7A) 30Where the court exercises a power under subsection (6) in relation to
costs incurred by a party, it must inform such of the following as it
considers appropriate—

(a) an approved regulator;

(b) the Director of Legal Aid Casework.”

(3) 35After subsection (12) insert—

“(12A) In subsection (7A)—

• “approved regulator” has the meaning given by section 20 of the
  Legal Services Act 2007;

• “the Director of Legal Aid Casework” means the civil servant
  40designated under section 4 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and
  Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.”

Contempt of court

51 Strict liability: limitations and defences in England and Wales

(1) The Contempt of Court Act 1981 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 2 (limitation of scope of strict liability)—

(a) 5after subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) In England and Wales, the strict liability rule applies to a
publication only if the proceedings in question are active within
the meaning of this section at a time when the publication is
available to the public or a section of the public.”, and

(b) 10in subsection (3), at the beginning insert “In Scotland and Northern
Ireland,”.

(3) In section 3 (defence of innocent publication or distribution), at the end insert—

“(5) In England and Wales, where a person—

(a) makes matter available to the public, or a section of the public,
15continuously over a limited or unlimited period, and

(b) at the beginning of the period, has a defence under subsection
(1) or (2) as regards the making available of the matter at that
time,

the person continues to have that defence as regards the making
20available of the matter until (and only until) the person has relevant
knowledge or a reason to have a relevant suspicion.”

(4) In section 4 (contemporary reports of proceedings), at the end insert—

“(5) In England and Wales, a person has a defence under this section only
in respect of a contempt of court under the strict liability rule arising in
25connection with—

(a) the proceedings that are the subject of the report, or

(b) any other legal proceedings that are active within the meaning
of section 2 when the report is first published.”

(5) After section 4 insert—

“4A 30Conduct begun before relevant proceedings: England and Wales

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person makes matter available to the public, or a section of the
public, continuously over a period, and

(b) during the period, legal proceedings become active within the
35meaning of section 2.

(2) In England and Wales, in making the matter available over the period,
the person is not guilty of a contempt of court under the strict liability
rule in connection with those proceedings, subject to subsection (3).

(3) If the Attorney General gives the person a notice in respect of the matter
40and the proceedings, the person does not have a defence under
subsection (2) in connection with the proceedings as regards the
making available of the matter after the date specified in the notice.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the
giving of a notice under this section, including provision about the
information to be included in a notice.

(5) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.

(6) 5A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is
subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of
Parliament.

(7) If, over a period, a person makes the same matter available to the
public, or a section of the public, in different forms or by different
10means, this section applies separately to the making available of the
matter in each of those forms or by each of those means.

(8) In this section—

(a) references to making matter available to the public are to doing
so as publisher, as distributor or otherwise;

(b) 15references to a period are to a limited or unlimited period.”

(6) In section 21 (extent etc)—

(a) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) Section 2(3) does not extend to England and Wales.”,

(b) in subsection (4) (provisions that do not extend to Scotland), after
20“Sections” insert “2(2A), 3(5), 4(5), 4A,”, and

(c) in subsection (5) (provisions that do not extend to Northern Ireland),
after “sections” insert “2(2A), 3(5), 4(5), 4A,”.

52 Strict liability: appeal against injunction

In section 159(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Crown Court proceedings:
25orders restricting or preventing reports or restricting public access), before
paragraph (a) insert—

“(za) an injunction granted under section 45(4) of the Senior Courts
Act 1981 in respect of contempt of court under the strict liability
rule (as defined in section 1 of the Contempt of Court Act
301981);”.

Juries and members of the Court Martial

53 Upper age limit for jury service to be 75

(1) The Juries Act 1974 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1(1)(a) (qualification for jury service) for the words from “and” to the
35end substitute “and aged eighteen or over but under seventy six”.

(3) In section 3(1) (electoral register as basis of jury selection), for “less than
eighteen or more than seventy years of age” substitute “—

(a) aged under eighteen, or

(b) aged seventy six or over”.

54 Jurors and electronic communications devices

In the Juries Act 1974, after section 15 insert—

“15A Surrender of electronic communications devices

(1) A judge dealing with an issue may order the members of a jury trying
5the issue to surrender any electronic communications devices for a
period.

(2) An order may be made only if the judge considers that—

(a) the order is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice, and

(b) the terms of the order are a proportionate means of
10safeguarding those interests.

(3) An order may only specify a period during which the members of the
jury are—

(a) in the building in which the trial is being heard,

(b) in other accommodation provided at the judge’s request,

(c) 15visiting a place in accordance with arrangements made by the
court, or

(d) travelling to or from a place mentioned in paragraph (b) or (c).

(4) An order may be made subject to exceptions.

(5) It is a contempt of court for a member of a jury to fail to surrender an
20electronic communications device in accordance with an order under
this section.

(6) Proceedings for a contempt of court under this section may only be
instituted on the motion of a court having jurisdiction to deal with it.

(7) In this section, “electronic communications device” means a device that
25is designed or adapted for a use which consists of or includes the
sending or receiving of signals that are transmitted by means of an
electronic communications network (as defined in section 32 of the
Communications Act 2003).”

55 Jurors and electronic communications devices: powers of search etc

(1) 30Part 4 of the Courts Act 2003 (court security officers) is amended as follows.

(2) After section 54 insert—

“54A Powers in relation to jurors’ electronic communications devices

(1) This section applies where an order has been made under section 15A
of the Juries Act 1974 (surrender of electronic communications devices
35by jurors) in respect of the members of a jury.

(2) A court security officer acting in the execution of the officer’s duty
must, if ordered to do so by a judge, search a member of the jury in
order to determine whether the juror has failed to surrender an
electronic communications device in accordance with the order.

(3) 40Subsection (2) does not authorise the officer to require a person to
remove clothing other than a coat, jacket, headgear, gloves or footwear.

(4) If the search reveals a device which is required by the order to be
surrendered—

(a) the officer must ask the juror to surrender the device, and

(b) if the juror refuses to do so, the officer may seize it.

(5) 5In this section, “electronic communications device” means a device that
is designed or adapted for a use which consists of or includes the
sending or receiving of signals that are transmitted by means of an
electronic communications network (as defined in section 32 of the
Communications Act 2003).”

(3) 10In section 55 (powers to retain articles surrendered or seized)—

(a) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) Subject to subsection (2), a court security officer may retain an
article which was—

(a) surrendered in response to a request under section
1554A(4)(a), or

(b) seized under section 54A(4)(b),

until the end of the period specified in the relevant order under
section 15A of the Juries Act 1974.”, and

(b) in subsection (2), for paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a) 20the time specified in subsection (1) or (1A) (as
appropriate), or”.

(4) In section 56(1)(a) (regulations about retention of articles)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (i), after “54(1)” insert “or 54A(4)(a)”, and

(b) in sub-paragraph (ii), after “54(2)” insert “or 54A(4)(b)”.

56 25Research by jurors

(1) The Juries Act 1974 is amended as follows.

(2) For the heading of section 20 substitute “Offences: failure to attend, serving
while disqualified etc”.

(3) After section 20 insert—

“20A 30Offence: research by jurors

(1) It is an offence for a member of a jury that tries an issue in a case before
a court to research the case during the trial period, subject to the
exceptions in subsections (6) and (7).

(2) A person researches a case if (and only if) the person—

(a) 35intentionally seeks information, and

(b) when doing so, knows or ought reasonably to know that the
information is or may be relevant to the case.

(3) The ways in which a person may seek information include—

(a) asking a question,

(b) 40searching an electronic database, including by means of the
internet,

(c) visiting or inspecting a place or object,

(d) conducting an experiment, and

(e) asking another person to seek the information.

(4) Information relevant to the case includes information about—

(a) a person involved in events relevant to the case,

(b) the judge dealing with the issue,

(c) 5any other person involved in the trial, whether as a lawyer, a
witness or otherwise,

(d) the law relating to the case,

(e) the law of evidence, and

(f) court procedure.

(5) 10“The trial period”, in relation to a member of a jury that tries an issue,
is the period—

(a) beginning when the person is sworn to try the issue, and

(b) ending when the judge discharges the jury or, if earlier, when
the judge discharges the person.

(6) 15It is not an offence under this section for a person to seek information if
the person needs the information for a reason which is not connected
with the case.

(7) It is not an offence under this section for a person—

(a) to attend proceedings before the court on the issue;

(b) 20to seek information from the judge dealing with the issue;

(c) to do anything which the judge dealing with the issue directs or
authorises the person to do;

(d) to seek information from another member of the jury, unless the
person knows or ought reasonably to know that the other
25member of the jury contravened this section in the process of
obtaining the information;

(e) to do anything else which is reasonably necessary in order for
the jury to try the issue.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction
30on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a
fine (or both).

(9) Proceedings for an offence under this section may only be instituted by
or with the consent of the Attorney General.”

57 Sharing research with other jurors

35In the Juries Act 1974, after section 20A insert—

“20B Offence: sharing research with other jurors

(1) It is an offence for a member of a jury that tries an issue in a case before
a court intentionally to disclose information to another member of the
jury during the trial period if—

(a) 40the member contravened section 20A in the process of obtaining
the information, and

(b) the information has not been provided by the court.

(2) Information has been provided by the court if (and only if) it has been
provided as part of—