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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
establish the post of Community Prosecution Lawyer for each parliamentary | |
constituency in England and Wales; to provide for the direct election of such | |
lawyers; to make arrangements for the role of such lawyers in the prosecution | |
of offences relating to anti-social behaviour; to establish the relationship | |
between such lawyers and the Crown Prosecution Service; and for connected | |
purposes. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
Part 1 | |
Office and functions of Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
General provisions for the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
1 Office of Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
(1) There shall be an office of Community Prosecution Lawyer in each | 5 |
parliamentary constituency in England and Wales. | |
(2) A Community Prosecution Lawyer shall hold office in accordance with the | |
provisions of Part 2 of this Act. | |
(3) Unless otherwise specified in this Act or under any other enactment (whenever | |
passed), a Community Prosecution Lawyer shall not be under the direction of | 10 |
the Director of Public Prosecutions (“the Director”). | |
(4) Schedule 1 (which makes provision about the operations of the office of Community | |
Prosecution Lawyer) shall have effect. | |
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Functions relating to anti-social behaviour offences | |
2 Principal function of a Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
(1) It shall be the principal function of a Community Prosecution Lawyer to | |
institute and have the conduct of proceedings relating to anti-social behaviour | |
offences which are alleged to have been committed in the parliamentary | 5 |
constituency in respect of which he was elected. | |
(2) In pursuance of his principal function, a Community Prosecution Lawyer shall | |
give advice, to such extent as he considers appropriate, to the relevant police | |
force on all matters relating to anti-social behaviour offences in the | |
parliamentary constituency in respect of which he was elected. | 10 |
(3) In pursuance of his principal function, a Community Prosecution Lawyer shall | |
have the conduct of applications for orders under section 1C of the Crime and | |
Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37) (anti-social behaviour orders made on conviction of | |
certain offences). | |
(4) Where any enactment (whenever passed) prohibits the taking of any step | 15 |
relating to the principal function of a Community Prosecution Lawyer— | |
(a) except by the Director or except by him or another, or | |
(b) without the consent of the Director or without his consent or the | |
consent of another | |
it shall not prohibit the taking of any such step by a Community Prosecution | 20 |
Lawyer. | |
(5) Where a Community Prosecution Lawyer has the conduct of any criminal | |
proceedings relating to the principal function of a Community Prosecution | |
Lawyer, the Director shall not, in relation to those proceedings, be subject to | |
any duty by virtue of section 3(2) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23) | 25 |
(duties of the Director). | |
(6) Schedule 2 (relating to the designation of anti-social behaviour offences for the | |
purposes of this Act) shall have effect. | |
3 Conduct of prosecutions on behalf of a Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
(1) A Community Prosecution Lawyer may at any time appoint a person who is | 30 |
not a member of his legal staff or a Crown Prosecutor but who has a general | |
qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services | |
Act 1990 (c. 41) (qualification for judicial and certain other appointments)) to | |
institute or take over the conduct of such criminal proceedings relating to an | |
anti-social behaviour offence as the Community Prosecution Lawyer may | 35 |
assign to him. | |
(2) Any person conducting proceedings assigned to him under this section shall | |
have all the powers of members of the legal staff of the Community | |
Prosecution Lawyer, but shall exercise those powers subject to any instructions | |
given to him by the Community Prosecution Lawyer or by a member of his | 40 |
legal staff. | |
4 Delivery of recognisances etc. to a Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
(1) Where a Community Prosecution Lawyer or any member of his legal staff | |
gives notice to any justice of the peace that he has instituted, or is conducting, | |
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any criminal proceedings relating to an anti-social behaviour offence, the | |
justice shall— | |
(a) at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner; or | |
(b) in a particular case, at the time and in the manner directed by the | |
Attorney General | 5 |
send him every recognisance, information, certificate, deposition, document | |
and thing connected with those proceedings which the justice is required by | |
law to deliver to the appropriate officer of the Crown Court. | |
(2) The Attorney General may make regulations for the purpose of supplementing | |
this section and, in subsection (1), “prescribed” means prescribed by those | 10 |
regulations. | |
(3) The Community Prosecution Lawyer, or, as the case may be, the member of his | |
legal staff shall— | |
(a) subject to the regulations, cause anything which is sent to him under | |
the provisions of subsection (1) and of regulations made under | 15 |
subsection (2) to be delivered to the appropriate officer of the Crown | |
Court; and | |
(b) be under the same obligation (on the same payment) to deliver to an | |
applicant copies of anything so sent to that officer. | |
5 Reports to a Community Prosecution Lawyer by a chief officer of police | 20 |
(1) The Attorney General shall make regulations requiring the chief officer of | |
police of the relevant police force to give to a Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
information with respect to every anti-social behaviour offence which is | |
alleged to have been committed in the parliamentary constituency in respect of | |
which the Community Prosecution Lawyer was elected where it appears to the | 25 |
chief officer of police that there is a prima facie case for proceedings. | |
(2) The regulations shall also require every such chief officer to give to the | |
Community Prosecution Lawyer such information as the Community | |
Prosecution Lawyer may require with respect to such cases or classes of case as | |
he may from time to time specify. | 30 |
(3) After section 8(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23) (reports to the | |
Director by chief officers of police) there shall be inserted— | |
“(1A) Regulations under subsection (1) may not prescribe offences which are | |
anti-social behaviour offences within the meaning given in accordance | |
with the provisions of the Community Prosecution Lawyers Act 2003.” | 35 |
6 Control of certain fees, etc. paid by a Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
(1) The Attorney General may, with the approval of the Treasury, by regulations | |
make such provision as he considers appropriate in relation to— | |
(a) the fees of any legal representative briefed to appear on behalf of a | |
Community Prosecution Lawyer in any criminal proceedings relating | 40 |
to anti-social behaviour offences; and | |
(b) the costs and expenses of witnesses attending to give evidence at the | |
instance of a Community Prosecution Lawyer and, subject to | |
subsection (2), of any other person who, in the opinion of the | |
Community Prosecution Lawyer, necessarily attends for the purpose of | 45 |
the case otherwise than to give evidence. | |
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(2) The power conferred on the Attorney General by subsection (1)(b) only relates | |
to the costs and expenses of an interpreter if the interpreter is required because | |
of the lack of English of a person attending to give evidence at the instance of | |
a Community Prosecution Lawyer. | |
(3) In subsection (1)(b) “attending” means attending at the court or elsewhere. | 5 |
(4) The regulations may, in particular— | |
(a) prescribe scales or rates of fees, costs or expenses; and | |
(b) specify conditions for the payment of fees, costs or expenses. | |
(5) Regulations made under subsection (1)(b) may provide that scales or rates of | |
costs and expenses shall be determined by the Attorney General with the | 10 |
consent of the Treasury. | |
7 Transfer of cases to the Crown Prosecution Service | |
(1) A Community Prosecution Lawyer may transfer responsibility for proceedings | |
relating to an anti-social behaviour offence reported to him in accordance with | |
the provisions of section 5 to a Crown Prosecutor. | 15 |
(2) Where responsibility for proceedings is transferred in accordance with the | |
provisions of subsection (1)— | |
(a) the Crown Prosecutor shall proceed in accordance with the provisions | |
of Part 1 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23); and | |
(b) the Community Prosecution Lawyer shall cease to have the conduct of | 20 |
proceedings relating to the offence. | |
(3) In this section “responsibility for proceedings” includes all decisions relating to | |
the institution and conduct of proceedings. | |
Functions relating to other offences | |
8 Transfer of cases to a Community Prosecution Lawyer | 25 |
(1) The Director may transfer responsibility for proceedings relating to an offence | |
reported to him in accordance with the provisions of section 8 of the | |
Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to the Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
elected in respect of the parliamentary constituency in which the offence is | |
alleged to have been committed. | 30 |
(2) Where responsibility for proceedings is transferred in accordance with the | |
provisions of subsection (1), the provisions of Part 1 of the Prosecution of | |
Offences Act 1985 shall apply, in respect of those proceedings, to— | |
(a) the Community Prosecution Lawyer as if he were a Crown Prosecutor, | |
and | 35 |
(b) the staff of the Community Prosecution Lawyer as if they were staff of | |
the Crown Prosecution Service. | |
(3) In this section “responsibility for proceedings” has the same meaning as in | |
section 7. | |
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Part 2 | |
Elections, disqualification, etc. | |
Qualifications for election | |
9 Register of persons legally qualified for election and holding office | |
(1) It shall be the duty of the Director to maintain a Register of persons recorded | 5 |
as legally qualified to seek election as a Community Prosecution Lawyer and | |
to hold the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer in accordance with the | |
provisions of this section. | |
(2) Where any person applies for his name to appear on the Register, the Director | |
shall enter that person’s name on the Register if that person meets the | 10 |
conditions specified in subsections (3) and (4). | |
(3) The condition specified in this subsection is that the person has a general | |
qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services | |
Act 1990 (c. 41) (qualification for judicial and certain other appointments)). | |
(4) The condition specified in this subsection is that the person is a fit and proper | 15 |
person to hold the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer. | |
(5) A decision on whether or not a person meets the condition specified in | |
subsection (4) shall be made in the first instance by the Director. | |
(6) In any case where, under subsection (5), the Director decides that a person does | |
not meet the condition specified in subsection (4), he shall inform the person | 20 |
concerned in writing as soon as practicable, giving reasons for his decision. | |
(7) The person concerned may appeal against a decision under subsection (5) to | |
the Attorney General. | |
(8) The decision of the Attorney General on whether or not a person meets the | |
condition specified in subsection (4) shall be final. | 25 |
(9) The Register shall be published in such manner as the Director thinks fit to | |
enable the contents of the Register to be readily available to members of the | |
public. | |
10 Removal of names of persons from the Register | |
(1) It shall be the duty of the Director to remove the name of a person from the | 30 |
Register of persons legally qualified to seek election as a Community | |
Prosecution Lawyer and to hold the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer | |
in accordance with the provisions of this section. | |
(2) Where a person whose name appears on the Register ceases to have a general | |
qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services | 35 |
Act 1990 (qualification for judicial and certain other appointments)), the | |
Director shall, as soon as practicable, remove his name from the Register. | |
(3) Where the Director is of the opinion that a person whose name appears on the | |
Register has, as a result of his actions, ceased to be a fit and proper person to | |
hold the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer, the Director shall inform | 40 |
the Attorney General of that opinion in writing, giving reasons for his opinion. | |
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(4) A copy of that written opinion shall be sent as soon as practicable to the person | |
concerned. | |
(5) In any case where, following receipt of an opinion under subsection (3) or | |
otherwise, the Attorney General is of the opinion that a person whose name | |
appears on the Register has, as a result of his actions, ceased to be a fit and | 5 |
proper person to hold the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer, he shall | |
inform the person concerned in writing as soon as practicable, giving reasons | |
for his decision. | |
(6) The person concerned may, within a period of one week, appeal against a | |
decision under subsection (5) to the High Court. | 10 |
(7) The decision of the High Court on whether or not to uphold the opinion of the | |
Attorney General under subsection (5) shall be made within a period of three | |
weeks from the date of the appeal and shall be final. | |
(8) Where the Attorney General has reached an opinion under subsection (5) | |
which— | 15 |
(a) has not been the subject of an appeal under subsection (6), or | |
(b) has been upheld on appeal under subsection (7) | |
the Director shall, as soon as practicable, remove the name of the person | |
concerned from the Register. | |
11 Qualifications for election and holding office | 20 |
(1) A person shall, unless disqualified by virtue of this Act or any other enactment, | |
be qualified to be elected to and to hold the office of Community Prosecution | |
Lawyer if he meets the conditions specified in this section. | |
(2) The condition specified in this subsection is that the person is— | |
(a) a British subject, or | 25 |
(b) a citizen of the European Union (within the meaning of Article 17 of the | |
Treaty establishing the European Community). | |
(3) The condition specified in this subsection is that the person will, on the relevant | |
day, have attained the age of twenty-one years. | |
(4) The condition specified in this subsection is that the person will not, on the | 30 |
relevant day, have attained the age of sixty-one years. | |
(5) The condition specified in this subsection is that the name of the person duly | |
appears on the Register published under section 9. | |
(6) In this section “the relevant day” means the next date for the holding of an | |
election for the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer in the parliamentary | 35 |
constituency concerned as determined in accordance with the provisions of | |
sections 16 to 18. | |
12 Disqualification for election | |
(1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected to the office of Community | |
Prosecution Lawyer if he has, at any time in the period beginning five years | 40 |
before the relevant day, been convicted in the United Kingdom, the Channel | |
Islands or the Isle of Man of any offence and has had passed on him a sentence | |
of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three | |
months without the option of a fine. | |
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(2) Any person convicted at any time of an offence under section 27 of this Act | |
shall be disqualified. | |
(3) In this section “relevant day” has the same meaning as in section 11. | |
Arrangements for elections | |
13 Entitlement to vote | 5 |
(1) A person is entitled to vote as an elector at an election for the office of | |
Community Prosecution Lawyer if he entitled to vote at a parliamentary | |
election in the same constituency. | |
(2) For the purposes of this section, entitlement to vote shall be determined in | |
accordance with the provisions of section 1 of the Representation of the People | 10 |
Act 1983 (c. 2) (parliamentary electors). | |
14 Regulations relating to elections of Community Prosecution Lawyers | |
(1) The Lord Chancellor shall make regulations governing the conduct of ordinary | |
elections and of by-elections for the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer. | |
(2) Regulations under this section shall prescribe arrangements for the receipt and | 15 |
verification of nominations submitted by or on behalf of candidates qualified | |
for the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer in accordance with the | |
provisions of sections 9 to 12 of this Act and section 426D of the Insolvency Act | |
1986 (c. 45). | |
(3) Regulations under this section shall prescribe that there shall be a single vote | 20 |
in such elections and that the candidate returned as elected shall be the | |
candidate to whom the majority of votes has been cast. | |
(4) Regulations under this section shall prescribe functions of the Electoral Commission in | |
the regulation and control of elections for the office of Community Prosecution Lawyer. | |
(5) Regulations under this section shall prescribe a period for the election | 25 |
campaign, the first day of which shall be known as the “campaign day”. | |
(6) Regulations under this section may provide that any provision of the | |
Representation of the People Act 1983 relating to the conduct of parliamentary | |
elections shall apply to elections for the office of Community Prosecution | |
Lawyer. | 30 |
(7) Regulations under this section shall prescribe the place and manner of voting | |
at such elections. | |
(8) Regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft has been laid | |
before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament. | |
(9) No draft may be laid before Parliament under subsection (8) until the Lord | 35 |
Chancellor has consulted the Electoral Commission. | |
(10) At the same time as any draft regulations are laid before Parliament under | |
subsection (8), the Lord Chancellor shall also lay before Parliament a report of | |
the outcome of his consultations with the Electoral Commission. | |
(11) In this section— | 40 |
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