The Criminal Procedure Rules 2015
2015 No. 1490 (L. 18)
Senior Courts Of England And Wales
Magistrates’ Courts, England And Wales
The Criminal Procedure Rules 2015
Made 3rd July 2015
Laid before Parliament 20th July 2015
Coming into force 5th October 2015
The Criminal Procedure Rule Committee—
(a) revokes the Criminal Procedure Rules 20141and makes the following Rules under section 69 of the Courts Act 20032, after consulting in accordance with section 72(1)(a) of that Act; and
(b) in making the Rules listed in the first column of this table, exercises also the powers listed in the corresponding entry in the second column—
Rule |
Power |
4.1 and 4.12 |
Section 12(1), (3) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 19883 |
Part 8 |
Section 48 of the Criminal Law Act 19774 |
Part 10 |
Section 2 of the Indictments Act 19155 and section 2(6) of the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 19336 |
14.6 |
Section 5B(9) of the Bail Act 19767 |
16.4 |
Section 9(2A) of the Criminal Justice Act 19678 |
19.3 |
Section 81 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 19849 and section 20(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 199610 |
20.4 |
Section 132(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 200311 |
Part 23 |
Sections 37 and 38 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 199912 |
24.11 |
Section 174(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 200313 |
24.15 |
Section 12(7ZA) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 198014 |
24.17 |
Section 30(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 200315 |
25.16 |
Section 174(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 |
28.4 |
Section 155(7) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 200016 |
33.7, 33.37, 33.39 and 33.40 |
Section 91 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 200217 |
33.47 |
Section 52 of the Senior Courts Act 198118 |
34.11 |
Sections 73(2) and 74(2), (3) and (4) of the Senior Courts Act 198119 |
36.8 |
Section 87(4) of the Senior Courts Act 198120 |
40.8 |
Section 159(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 198821 |
42.14, 42.18, 42.19 and 42.20 |
Section 91 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 |
45.6 and 45.7 |
Section 52 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 |
Part 47, sections 1, 2 and 3 |
Paragraph 10 of Schedule 5, paragraph 4 of Schedule 6, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 6A to the Terrorism Act 200022 |
Part 47, sections 1, 2 and 4 |
Sections 351(2), 362(2), 369(2) and 375(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 200223 |
47.26 |
Section 74(3) of the Senior Courts Act 198124 |
48.16 |
Section 19 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 199625 |
50.17 |
Section 67 of the Senior Courts Act 198126 |
50.23 |
Sections 36A(4), 36B(3), 118A(4) and 118B(3) of the Extradition Act 200327 |
50.30 |
Sections 19 and 66 of the Senior Courts Act 198128 |
These Rules may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015 and shall come into force on 5th October 2015.
PART 1
THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE
Contents of this Part |
|
The overriding objective |
rule 1.1 |
The duty of the participants in a criminal case |
rule 1.2 |
The application by the court of the overriding objective |
rule 1.3 |
The overriding objective
1.1.—(1) The overriding objective of this procedural code is that criminal cases be dealt with justly.
(2) Dealing with a criminal case justly includes―
(a)
(a) acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty;
(b)
(b) dealing with the prosecution and the defence fairly;
(c)
(c) recognising the rights of a defendant, particularly those under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
(d)
(d) respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors and keeping them informed of the progress of the case;
(e)
(e) dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously;
(f)
(f) ensuring that appropriate information is available to the court when bail and sentence are considered; and
(g)
(g) dealing with the case in ways that take into account―
(i) the gravity of the offence alleged,
(ii) the complexity of what is in issue,
(iii) the severity of the consequences for the defendant and others affected, and
(iv) the needs of other cases.
The duty of the participants in a criminal case
1.2.—(1) Each participant, in the conduct of each case, must―
(a)
(a) prepare and conduct the case in accordance with the overriding objective;
(b)
(b) comply with these Rules, practice directions and directions made by the court; and
(c)
(c) at once inform the court and all parties of any significant failure (whether or not that participant is responsible for that failure) to take any procedural step required by these Rules, any practice direction or any direction of the court. A failure is significant if it might hinder the court in furthering the overriding objective.
(2) Anyone involved in any way with a criminal case is a participant in its conduct for the purposes of this rule.
The application by the court of the overriding objective
1.3. The court must further the overriding objective in particular when―
(a) exercising any power given to it by legislation (including these Rules);
(b) applying any practice direction; or
(c) interpreting any rule or practice direction.
PART 2
UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE RULES
Contents of this Part |
|
When the Rules apply |
rule 2.1 |
Definitions |
rule 2.2 |
References to Acts of Parliament and to Statutory Instruments |
rule 2.3 |
When the Rules apply
2.1.—(1) In general, Criminal Procedure Rules apply―
(a)
(a) in all criminal cases in magistrates’ courts and in the Crown Court;
(b)
(b) in extradition cases in the High Court; and
(c)
(c) in all cases in the criminal division of the Court of Appeal.
(2) If a rule applies only in one or some of those courts, the rule makes that clear.
(3) These Rules apply on and after 5th October, 2015, but―
(a)
(a) unless the court otherwise directs, they do not affect a right or duty existing under the Criminal Procedure Rules 201429; and
(b)
(b) unless the High Court otherwise directs, Section 3 of Part 50 (Extradition – appeal to the High Court) does not apply to a case in which notice of an appeal was given before 6th October, 2014.
(4) In a case in which a request for extradition was received by a relevant authority in the United Kingdom on or before 31st December, 2003―
(a)
(a) the rules in Part 50 (Extradition) do not apply; and
(b)
(b) the rules in Part 17 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 201230(Extradition) continue to apply as if those rules had not been revoked.
[Note. The rules replaced by the first Criminal Procedure Rules (the Criminal Procedure Rules 200531) were revoked when those Rules came into force by provisions of the Courts Act 2003, the Courts Act 2003 (Consequential Amendments) Order 200432and the Courts Act 2003 (Commencement No. 6 and Savings) Order 200433. The first Criminal Procedure Rules reproduced the substance of all the rules they replaced.
The rules in Part 17 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2012 applied to extradition proceedings under the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 196534or under the Extradition Act 198935. By section 218 of the Extradition Act 2003, the 1965 and 1989 Acts ceased to have effect when the 2003 Act came into force. By article 2 of the Extradition Act 2003 (Commencement and Savings) Order 200336, the 2003 Act came into force on 1st January, 2004. However, article 3 of that Order37provided that the coming into force of the Act did not apply for the purposes of any request for extradition, whether made under any of the provisions of the Extradition Act 1989 or of the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 or otherwise, which was received by the relevant authority in the United Kingdom on or before 31st December, 2003.]
Definitions
2.2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant:
‘advocate’ means a person who is entitled to exercise a right of audience in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 200738;
‘business day’ means any day except Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday or a bank holiday;
‘court’ means a tribunal with jurisdiction over criminal cases. It includes a judge, recorder, District Judge (Magistrates’ Court), lay justice and, when exercising their judicial powers, the Registrar of Criminal Appeals, a justices’ clerk or assistant clerk;
‘court officer’ means the appropriate member of the staff of a court;
‘justices’ legal adviser’ means a justices’ clerk or an assistant to a justices’ clerk;
‘legal representative’ means:
(i) the person for the time being named as a party’s representative in any legal aid representation order made under section 16 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 201239, or
(ii) subject to that, the person named as a party’s representative in any notice for the time being given under rule 46.2 (Notice of appointment or change of legal representative), provided that person is entitled to conduct litigation in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007;
‘live link’ means an arrangement by which a person can see and hear, and be seen and heard by, the court when that person is not in court;
‘Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions, as amended, and ‘Criminal Costs Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Practice Direction (Costs in Criminal Proceedings), as amended;
‘public interest ruling’ means a ruling about whether it is in the public interest to disclose prosecution material under sections 3(6), 7A(8) or 8(5) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 199640; and
‘Registrar’ means the Registrar of Criminal Appeals or a court officer acting with the Registrar’s authority.
(2) Definitions of some other expressions are in the rules in which they apply.
[Note. The glossary at the end of the Rules is a guide to the meaning of certain legal expressions used in them.]
References to...
To continue reading
Request your trial