Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

House of Commons

Session 2007 - 08
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Other Bills before Parliament

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
Part 6 — Other criminal justice provisions
62

Miscellaneous
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SFO’s pre-investigation powers in relation to bribery and corruption: foreign
officers etc
(1)
The Criminal Justice Act 1987 (c. 38) is amended as follows.
(2)
After section 2 insert—
5
“2A
Director’s pre-investigation powers in relation to bribery and
corruption: foreign officers etc
(1)
The powers of the Director under section 2 are also exercisable for the
purpose of enabling him to determine whether to start an investigation
under section 1 in a case where it appears to him that conduct to which
10
this section applies may have taken place.
(2)
But—
(a)
the power under subsection (2) of section 2 is so exercisable only
if it appears to the Director that for the purpose of enabling him
to make that determination it is expedient to require any person
15
appearing to him to have relevant information to do as
mentioned in that subsection, and
(b)
the power under subsection (3) of that section is so exercisable
only if it appears to the Director that for that purpose it is
expedient to require any person to do as mentioned in that
20
subsection.
(3)
Accordingly, where the powers of the Director under section 2 are
exercisable in accordance with subsections (1) and (2) above—
(a)
the reference in subsection (2) of that section to the person
under investigation or any other person whom the Director has
25
reason to believe has relevant information is to be read as a
reference to any such person as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a)
above,
(b)
the reference in subsection (3) of that section to the person
under investigation or any other person is to be read as a
30
reference to any such person as is mentioned in subsection
(2)(b) above, and
(c)
any reference in subsection (2), (3) or (4) of that section to the
investigation is to be read as a reference to the making of any
such determination as is mentioned in subsection (1) above.
35
(4)
Any reference in section 2(16) to the carrying out of an investigation by
the Serious Fraud Office into serious or complex fraud includes a
reference to the making of any such determination as is mentioned in
subsection (1) above.
(5)
This section applies to any conduct which, as a result of section 108 of
40
the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (bribery and
corruption: foreign officers etc), constitutes a corruption offence
(wherever committed).
(6)
The following are corruption offences for the purposes of this section—
(a)
any common law offence of bribery;
45

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(b)
the offences under section 1 of the Public Bodies Corrupt
Practices Act 1889 (corruption in office); and
(c)
the offences under section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
1906 (corrupt transactions with agents).”
(3)
In section 17(3) (provisions of Act extending to Northern Ireland) after
5
“sections 2” insert “, 2A”.
(4)
This section extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland only.
91
Contents of an accused’s defence statement
In section 6A(1) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (c. 25)
(contents of defence statement), after “prosecution,” in paragraph (c) insert—
10
“(ca)
setting out particulars of the matters of fact on which he intends
to rely for the purposes of his defence,”.
92
Compensation for miscarriages of justice
(1)
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33) has effect subject to the following
amendments.
15
(2)
Section 133 (compensation for miscarriages of justice) is amended as follows.
(3)
At the end of subsection (2) (compensation only payable if application for
compensation is made) insert “before the end of the period of 2 years beginning
with the date on which the conviction of the person concerned is reversed or
he is pardoned.
20
(2A)
But the Secretary of State may direct that an application for
compensation made after the end of that period is to be treated as if it
had been made within that period if the Secretary of State considers
that there are exceptional circumstances which justify doing so.”
(4)
For subsection (4A) substitute—
25
“(4A)
Section 133A applies in relation to the assessment of the amount of the
compensation.”
(5)
After subsection (5) (meaning of “reversed” in relation to a conviction) insert—
“(5A)
But in a case where—
(a)
a person’s conviction for an offence is quashed on an appeal out
30
of time, and
(b)
the person is to be subject to a retrial,

the conviction is not to be treated for the purposes of this section as
“reversed” unless and until the person is acquitted of all offences at the
retrial or the prosecution indicates that it has decided not to proceed
35
with the retrial.
(5B)
In subsection (5A) above any reference to a retrial includes a reference
to proceedings held following the remission of a matter to a
magistrates’ court by the Crown Court under section 48(2)(b) of the
Supreme Court Act 1981.”
40
(6)
In subsection (6) (meaning of suffering punishment as a result of conviction)
after “this section” insert “and section 133A”.

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(7)
After section 133 insert—
“133A
Miscarriages of justice: amount of compensation
(1)
This section applies where an assessor is required to assess the amount
of compensation payable to or in respect of a person under section 133
for a miscarriage of justice.
5
(2)
In assessing so much of any compensation payable under section 133 as
is attributable to suffering, harm to reputation or similar damage, the
assessor must have regard in particular to—
(a)
the seriousness of the offence of which the person was
convicted and the severity of the punishment suffered as a
10
result of the conviction, and
(b)
the conduct of the investigation and prosecution of the offence.
(3)
The assessor may make from the total amount of compensation that the
assessor would otherwise have assessed as payable under section 133
any deduction or deductions that the assessor considers appropriate by
15
reason of either or both of the following—
(a)
any conduct of the person appearing to the assessor to have
directly or indirectly caused, or contributed to, the conviction
concerned; and
(b)
any other convictions of the person and any punishment
20
suffered as a result of them.
(4)
If, having had regard to any matters falling within subsection (3)(a) or
(b), the assessor considers that there are exceptional circumstances
which justify doing so, the assessor may determine that the amount of
compensation payable under section 133 is to be a nominal amount
25
only.
(5)
The total amount of compensation payable to or in respect of a person
under section 133 for a particular miscarriage of justice must not exceed
the overall compensation limit.

That limit is £500,000.
30
(6)
The total amount of compensation payable under section 133 for a
person’s loss of earnings or earnings capacity in respect of any one year
must not exceed the earnings compensation limit.

That limit is an amount equal to 1.5 times the median annual gross
earnings according to the latest figures published by the Office of
35
National Statistics at the time of the assessment.
(7)
The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument
amend subsection (5) or (6) so as to alter the amount for the time being
specified as the overall compensation limit or the earnings
compensation limit.
40
(8)
No order may be made under subsection (7) unless a draft of the order
has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of
Parliament.”
(8)
In section 172 (extent) in subsection (3) (provisions extending to Northern
Ireland as well as England and Wales) after “section 133;” insert—
45
“section 133A;”.
(9)
This section extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

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93
Annual report on the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998
(1)
Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 (c. 40)
(requirement for annual report on working of the Act) ceases to have effect.
(2)
The following provisions, namely—
(a)
subsection (1), and
5
(b)
the repeal of section 8 of that Act in Part 4 of Schedule 34,

extend to England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Part 7
Criminal law
Pornography etc.
10
94
Possession of extreme pornographic images
(1)
It is an offence for a person to be in possession of an extreme pornographic
image.
(2)
An “extreme pornographic image” is an image which is both—
(a)
pornographic, and
15
(b)
an extreme image.
(3)
An image is “pornographic” if it appears to have been produced solely or
principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.
(4)
Where an image forms part of a series of images, the question whether the
image appears to have been so produced is to be determined by reference to—
20
(a)
the image itself, and
(b)
(if the series of images is such as to be capable of providing a context for
the image) the context in which it occurs in the series of images.
(5)
So, for example, where—
(a)
an image forms an integral part of a narrative constituted by a series of
25
images, and
(b)
it appears that the series of images as a whole was not produced solely
or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal,

the image may, by virtue of being part of that narrative, be found not to be
pornographic, even though it might have been found to be pornographic if
30
taken by itself.
(6)
An “extreme image” is an image of any of the following—
(a)
an act which threatens or appears to threaten a person’s life,
(b)
an act which results in or appears to result (or be likely to result) in
serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals,
35
(c)
an act which involves or appears to involve sexual interference with a
human corpse,
(d)
a person performing or appearing to perform an act of intercourse or
oral sex with an animal,
where (in each case) any such act, person or animal depicted in the image is or
40
appears to be real.
(7)
In this section “image” means—

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(a)
a moving or still image (produced by any means); or
(b)
data (stored by any means) which is capable of conversion into an
image within paragraph (a).
(8)
In this section references to a part of the body include references to a part
surgically constructed (in particular through gender reassignment surgery).
5
(9)
Proceedings for an offence under this section may not be instituted—
(a)
in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Director of
Public Prosecutions; or
(b)
in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Director of
Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.
10
95
Exclusion of classified films etc.
(1)
Section 94 does not apply to excluded images.
(2)
An “excluded image” is an image which forms part of a series of images
contained in a recording of the whole or part of a classified work.
(3)
But such an image is not an “excluded image” if—
15
(a)
it is contained in a recording of an extract from a classified work, and
(b)
it appears that the image was extracted (whether with or without other
images) solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal.
(4)
Where an extracted image is one of a series of images contained in the
recording, the question whether the image appears to have been extracted as
20
mentioned in subsection (3)(b) is to be determined by reference to—
(a)
the image itself, and
(b)
(if the series of images is such as to be capable of providing a context for
the image) the context in which it occurs in the series of images;

and section 94(5) applies in connection with determining that question as it
25
applies in connection with determining whether an image is pornographic.
(5)
In determining for the purposes of this section whether a recording is a
recording of the whole or part of a classified work, any alteration attributable
to—
(a)
a defect caused for technical reasons or by inadvertence on the part of
30
any person, or
(b)
the inclusion in the recording of any extraneous material (such as
advertisements),

is to be disregarded.
(6)
Nothing in this section is to be taken as affecting any duty of a designated
35
authority to have regard to section 94 (along with other enactments creating
criminal offences) in determining whether a video work is suitable for a
classification certificate to be issued in respect of it.
(7)
In this section—
“classified work” means (subject to subsection (8)) a video work in respect
40
of which a classification certificate has been issued by a designated
authority (whether before or after the commencement of this section);
“classification certificate” and “video work” have the same meanings as in
the Video Recordings Act 1984 (c. 39);

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“designated authority” means an authority which has been designated by
the Secretary of State under section 4 of that Act;
“extract” includes an extract consisting of a single image;
“image” and “pornographic” have the same meanings as in section 94;
“recording” means any disc, tape or other device capable of storing data
5
electronically and from which images may be produced (by any
means).
(8)
Section 22(3) of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (c. 39) (effect of alterations)
applies for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that Act.
96
Defence
10
(1)
Where a person is charged with an offence under section 94, it is a defence for
the person to prove any of the matters mentioned in subsection (2).
(2)
The matters are—
(a)
that the person had a legitimate reason for being in possession of the
image concerned;
15
(b)
that the person had not seen the image concerned and did not know,
nor had any cause to suspect, it to be an extreme pornographic image;
(c)
that the person—
(i)
was sent the image concerned without any prior request having
been made by or on behalf of the person, and
20
(ii)
did not keep it for an unreasonable time.
(3)
In this section “extreme pornographic image” and “image” have the same
meanings as in section 94.
97
Penalties etc. for possession of extreme pornographic images
(1)
This section has effect where a person is guilty of an offence under section 94.
25
(2)
Except where subsection (3) applies to the offence, the offender is liable—
(a)
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the
relevant period or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
3 years or a fine or both.
30
(3)
If the offence relates to an image that does not depict any act within section
94(6)(a) or (b), the offender is liable—
(a)
on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the
relevant period or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
35
2 years or a fine or both.
(4)
In subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a) “the relevant period” means—
(a)
in relation to England and Wales, 12 months;
(b)
in relation to Northern Ireland, 6 months.