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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.

 
Bill 853/2
 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    iii

 

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

 
Bill 853/2
 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    iv

 

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

 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    v

 

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

 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    vi

 

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

 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    vii

 

      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

 
 

Criminal Justice Bill

    viii

 

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

 
 

 
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Revised 21 November 2002