Criminal Justice Bill

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House of Commons

Session 2002 - 03
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Criminal Justice Bill

Criminal Justice Bill

EXPLANATORY NOTES
Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Home Office, will be published
separately as Bill 8–EN.
EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr Secretary Blunkett has made the following statement under section 19(1)(a) of the
Human Rights Act 1998:
In my view the provisions of the Criminal Justice Bill are compatible with the
Convention rights.

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Contents
Part 1
Amendments of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
General amendments
      1         Extension of powers to stop and search
      2         Warrants to enter and search
      3         Bail elsewhere than at police station
      4         Use of telephones for review of police detention
      5         Limits on period of detention without charge
      6         Property of detained persons
      7         Codes of practice
      8         Amendments related to this Part
Amendments relating to drugs
      9         Power of arrest for possession of Class C drugs
      10         Drug testing for under-eighteens
Part 2
Bail
      11         Grant and conditions of bail
      12         Offences committed on bail
      13         Appeal to Crown Court
      14         Appeals to High Court
      15         Appeal by prosecution
      16         Drug users: restriction on bail
      17         Interpretation of Part 2
Part 3
Conditional cautions
      18         Conditional cautions
      19         The five requirements
      20         Failure to comply with conditions
      21         Code of practice
      22         Interpretation of Part 3

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Part 4
Charging etc
      23         Charging or release of persons in police detention
      24         New method of instituting proceedings
      25         Further provision about new method
      26         Removal of requirement to substantiate information on oath
Part 5
Disclosure
      27         Initial duty of disclosure by prosecutor
      28         Defence disclosure
      29         Notification of intention to call defence witnesses
      30         Notification of names of experts instructed by defendant
      31         Further provisions about defence disclosure
      32         Continuing duty of disclosure by prosecutor
      33         Application by defence for disclosure
      34         Faults in defence disclosure
Part 6
Allocation and transfer of offences
      35         Allocation of offences triable either way, and sending cases to Crown Court
Part 7
Trials on indictment without a jury
      36         Application by defendant for trial to be conducted without jury
      37         Application by prosecution for complex or lengthy trial to be conducted
without jury
      38         Application by prosecution for trial to be conducted without jury where
danger of jury tampering
      39         Procedure for applications under sections 36 to 38
      40         Discharge of jury because of jury tampering
      41         Appeals
      42         Further provision about trials without a jury
Part 8
Live links
      43         Live links in criminal proceedings
      44         Effect of, and rescission of, direction
      45         Magistrates’ courts permitted to sit at other locations
      46         Warning to jury
      47         Rules of court
      48         Interpretation of Part 8

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Part 9
Prosecution appeals
      49         Meaning of “terminating ruling”
      50         Prosecution right of appeal against certain rulings
      51         Appeals against terminating rulings
      52         Appeals against certain other rulings
      53         Expedited and non-expedited appeals
      54         Continuation of proceedings for offences not affected by ruling
      55         Determination of appeal by Court of Appeal
      56         Appeals to the House of Lords
      57         Costs
      58         Effect on time limits in relation to preliminary stages
      59         Restrictions on reporting
      60         Offences in connection with reporting
      61         Interpretation of Part 9
Part 10
Retrial for serious offences
Cases that may be retried
      62         Cases that may be retried
Application for retrial
      63         Application to Court of Appeal
      64         Determination by Court of Appeal
      65         New and compelling evidence
      66         Interests of justice
      67         Procedure and evidence
      68         Appeals
      69         Restrictions on reporting
      70         Offences in connection with reporting
Retrial
      71         Retrial
Investigations
      72         Authorisation of investigations
      73         Urgent investigative steps
Arrest, custody and bail
      74         Arrest and charge
      75         Bail and custody before application
      76         Bail and custody before hearing
      77         Bail and custody during and after hearing

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Part 10: supplementary
      78         Functions of the DPP
      79         Rules of Court
      80         Interpretation of Part 10
Part 11
Evidence
Chapter 1
Evidence of bad character
Introductory
      81         “Bad character”
      82         Abolition of common law rules
Persons other than defendants
      83         Non-defendant’s bad character
Defendants
      84         Defendant’s bad character
      85         “Important explanatory evidence”
      86         Offences “of the same description” or “of the same category”
      87         “Matter in issue between the defendant and the prosecution”
      88         “Matter in issue between the defendant and a co-defendant”
      89         “Evidence to correct a false impression”
      90         “Attack on another person’s character”
      91         Stopping the case where evidence contaminated
      92         Offences committed by defendant when a child
General
      93         Assumption of truth in assessment of relevance or probative value
      94         Court’s duty to give reasons for rulings
      95         Rules of court
      96         Interpretation of Chapter 1
      97         Armed forces
Chapter 2
Hearsay evidence
Hearsay: main provisions
      98         Admissibility of hearsay evidence
      99         Statements and matters stated
Principal categories of admissibility
      100         Cases where a witness is unavailable
      101         Business and other documents

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      102         Preservation of certain common law categories of admissibility
      103         Inconsistent statements
      104         Other previous statements of witnesses
Supplementary
      105         Multiple hearsay
      106         Documents produced as exhibits
      107         Capability to make statement
      108         Credibility
      109         Stopping the case where evidence is unconvincing
      110         Court’s general discretion to exclude evidence
Miscellaneous
      111         Expert evidence: preparatory work
      112         Confessions
      113         Representations other than by a person
      114         Depositions
      115         Evidence at retrial
      116         Proof of statements in documents
General
      117         Rules of court
      118         Interpretation of Chapter 2
      119         Armed forces
      120         Repeals etc
Chapter 3
Miscellaneous and supplemental
      121         Evidence by video recording
      122         Video evidence: further provisions
      123         Use of documents to refresh memory
      124         Interpretation of Chapter 3
      125         Saving
Part 12
Sentencing
Chapter 1
General provisions about sentencing
Matters to be taken into account in sentencing
      126         Purposes of sentencing
      127         Determining the seriousness of an offence
      128         Reduction in sentences for guilty pleas
      129         Increase in sentences for racial or religious aggravation

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General restrictions on community sentences
      130         Meaning of “community sentence” etc.
      131         Restrictions on imposing community sentences
      132         Passing of community sentence on offender remanded in custody
      133         Community sentence not available where sentence fixed by law etc.
      134         Community order for persistent offender previously fined
General restrictions on discretionary custodial sentences
      135         General restrictions on imposing discretionary custodial sentences
      136         Length of discretionary custodial sentences: general provision
General limit on magistrates’ court’s power to impose imprisonment
      137         General limit on magistrates’ court’s power to impose imprisonment
      138         Consecutive terms of imprisonment
      139         Power to increase limits
Procedural requirements for imposing community sentences and discretionary custodial
sentences
      140         Pre-sentence reports and other requirements
      141         Additional requirements in case of mentally disordered offender
      142         Meaning of “pre-sentence report”
Disclosure of pre-sentence reports etc
      143         Disclosure of pre-sentence reports
      144         Other reports of local probation boards and members of youth offending
teams
Pre-sentence drug testing
      145         Pre-sentence drug testing
Fines
      146         Powers to order statement as to offender’s financial circumstances
      147         General power of Crown Court to fine offender convicted on indictment
      148         Fixing of fines
      149         Remission of fines
Savings for power to mitigate etc
      150         Savings for powers to mitigate sentences and deal appropriately with
mentally disordered offenders
Sentencing and allocation guidelines
      151         The Sentencing Guidelines Council
      152         The Sentencing Advisory Panel
      153         Guidelines relating to sentencing and allocation
      154         Functions of Sentencing Advisory Panel in relation to guidelines
      155         Duty of court to have regard to sentencing guidelines
      156         Annual report by Council

© Parliamentary copyright 2002
Revised 21 November 2002