Criminal Justice Act 1993
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Criminal Justice Act 1993
1993 CHAPTER 36
An Act to make provision about the jurisdiction of courts in England and Wales in relation to certain offences of dishonesty and blackmail; to amend the law about drug trafficking offences and to implement provisions of the Community Council Directive No. 91/308/EEC; to amend Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; to make provision with respect to the financing of terrorism, the proceeds of terrorist-related activities and the investigation of terrorist activities; to amend Part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; to implement provisions of the Community Council Directive No. 89/592/EEC and to amend and restate the law about insider dealing in securities; to provide for certain offences created by the Banking Coordination (Second Council Directive) Regulations 1992 to be punishable in the same way as offences under sections 39, 40 and 41 of the Banking Act 1987 and to enable regulations implementing Article 15 of the Community Council Directive No. 89/646/EEC and Articles 3, 6 and 7 of the Community Council Directive No. 92/30/EEC to create offences punishable in that way; to make provision with respect to the penalty for causing death by dangerous driving or causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs; to make it an offence to assist in or induce certain conduct which for the purposes of, or in connection with, the provisions of Community law is unlawful in another member State; to provide for the introduction of safeguards in connection with the return of persons under backing of warrants arrangements; to amend the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 and Part I of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993; and for connected purposes.
[27th July 1993]
B e 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 I
JURISDICTION
1 Offences to which this Part applies.
(1) This Part applies to two groups of offences—
(a) any offence mentioned in subsection (2) (a ‘Group A offence’); and
(b) any offence mentioned in subsection (3) (a ‘Group B offence’).
(2) The Group A offences are—
(a) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Theft Act 1968—
section 1 (theft);
section 15 (obtaining property by deception);
section 16 (obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception);
section 17 (false accounting);
section 19 (false statements by company directors, etc.);
section 20(2) (procuring execution of valuable security by deception);
section 21 (blackmail);
section 22 (handling stolen goods);
(b) an offence under either of the following provisions of the Theft Act 1978—
section 1 (obtaining services by deception);
section 2 (avoiding liability by deception);
(c) an offence under any of the following provisions of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981—
section 1 (forgery);
section 2 (copying a false instrument);
section 3 (using a false instrument);
section 4 (using a copy of a false instrument);
section 5 (offences which relate to money orders, share certificates, passports, etc.);
(d) the common law offence of cheating in relation to the public revenue.
(3) The Group B offences are—
(a) conspiracy to commit a Group A offence;
(b) conspiracy to defraud;
(c) attempting to commit a Group A offence;
(d) incitement to commit a Group A offence.
(4) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (2) or (3) by adding or removing any offence.
(5) The power to make such an order shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
(6) No order shall be made under subsection (4) unless a draft of it has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
2 Jurisdiction in respect of Group A offences.
(1) For the purposes of this Part, ‘relevant event’, in relation to any Group A offence, means any act or omission or other event (including any result of one or more acts or omissions) proof of which is required for conviction of the offence.
(2) For the purpose of determining whether or not a particular event is a relevant event in relation to a Group A offence, any question as to where it occurred is to be disregarded.
(3) A person may be guilty of a Group A offence if any of the events which are relevant events in relation to the offence occurred in England and Wales.
3 Questions immaterial to jurisdiction in the case ofcertain offences.
(1) A person may be guilty of a Group A or Group B offence whether or not—
(a) he was a British citizen at any material time;
(b) he was in England and Wales at any such time.
(2) On a charge of conspiracy to commit a Group A offence, or on a charge of conspiracy to defraud in England and Wales, the defendant may be guilty of the offence whether or not—
(a) he became a party to the conspiracy in England and Wales;
(b) any act or omission or other event in relation to the conspiracy occurred in England and Wales.
(3) On a charge of attempting to commit a Group A offence, the defendant may be guilty of the offence whether or not—
(a) the attempt was made in England and Wales;
(b) it had an effect in England and Wales.
(4) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply where jurisdiction is given to try the offence in question by an enactment which makes provision by reference to the nationality of the person charged.
(5) Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to any charge under the Criminal Law Act 1977 brought by virtue of section 1A of that Act.
(6) Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to any charge under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 brought by virtue of section 1A of that Act.
4 Rules for determining certain jurisdictionalquestions relating to the location of events.
In relation to a Group A or Group B offence—
(a) there is an obtaining of property in England and Wales if the property is either despatched from or received at a place in England and Wales; and
(i) from a place in England and Wales to a place elsewhere; or
(ii) from a place elsewhere to a place in England and Wales.
5 Conspiracy, attempt and incitement.
(1) The following section shall be inserted in the Criminal Law Act 1977 , after section 1—
1A ‘Extended jurisdiction over certain conspiracies.
(1) This Part of this Act has effect in relation to an agreement which falls within this section as it has effect in relation to one which falls within section 1(1) above.
(2) An agreement falls within this section if—
(a) a party to it, or a party's agent, did anything in England and Wales in relation to it before its formation, or
(b) a party to it became a party in England and Wales (by joining it either in person or through an agent), or
(c) a party to it, or a party's agent, did or omitted anything in England and Wales in pursuance of it,
and the agreement would fall within section 1(1) above as an agreement relating to the commission of a Group A offence but for that offence, if committed in accordance with the parties' intentions, not being an offence triable in England and Wales.
(3) In subsection (2) above ‘Group A offence’ has the same meaning as in Part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
(4) Subsection (1) above is subject to the provisions of section 6 of the Act of 1993 (relevance of external law).
(5) An offence which is an offence of conspiracy, by virtue of this section, shall be treated for all purposes as an offence of conspiracy to commit the relevant Group A offence.’.
(2) The following section shall be inserted in the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 , after section 1—
1A ‘Extended jurisdiction in relation to certainattempts.
(1) If this section applies to an act, what the person doing the act had in view shall be treated as an offence to which section 1(1) above applies.
(2) This section applies to an act if—
(a) it is done in England and Wales, and
(b) it would fall within section 1(1) above as more than merely preparatory to the commission of a Group A offence but for the fact that that offence, if completed, would not be an offence triable in England and Wales.
(3) In this section ‘Group A offence’ has the same meaning as in Part 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
(4) Subsection (1) above is subject to the provisions of section 6 of the Act of 1993 (relevance of external law).
(5) Where a person does any act to which this section applies, the offence which he commits shall for all purposes be treated as the offence of attempting to commit the relevant Group A offence.’.
(3) A person may be guilty of conspiracy to defraud if—
(a) a party to the agreement constituting the conspiracy, or a party's agent, did anything in England and Wales in relation to the agreement before its formation, or
(b) a party to it became a party in England and Wales (by joining it either in person or through an agent), or
(c) a party to it, or a party's agent, did or omitted anything in England...
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