The Criminal Procedure Rules 2014
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
2014No. 1610 (L. 26)
SENIOR COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
MAGISTRATES' COURTS, ENGLAND AND WALES
The Criminal Procedure Rules 2014
11thJune2014
25thJune2014
6thOctober2014
The Criminal Procedure Rule Committee-
(a) revokes the Criminal Procedure Rules 2013( 1) and makes the following Rules under section 69 of the Courts Act 2003( 2), 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 4.7
Section 12(1) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988( 3)
Part 6, 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 2000( 4)
Part 6, sections 1, 2 and 4
Sections 351(2), 362(2), 369(2) and 375(1) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002( 5)
6.26
Section 74(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 6)
Part 10
Section 48 of the Criminal Law Act 1977( 7)
17.17
Section 67 of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 8)
17.23
Sections 36A(4), 36B(3), 118A(4) and 118B(3) of the Extradition Act 2003( 9)
17.30
Sections 19 and 66 of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 10)
19.6
Section 5B(9) of the Bail Act 1976( 11)
33.3
Section 81 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984( 12) and section 20(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996( 13)
34.4
Section 132(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003( 14)
37.10
Section 174(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003( 15)
37.16
Section 30(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003( 16)
42.4
Section 155(7) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000( 17)
57.7, 61.6, 61.8 and 61.9
Section 91 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002( 18)
62.16
Section 19 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996( 19)
63.10
Sections 73(2) and 74(2), (3) and (4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 20)
65.8
Section 87(4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 21)
76.6 and 76.7
Section 52 of the Senior Courts Act 1981( 22)
These Rules may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Rules 2014 and shall come into force on 6th October 2014.
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 new code is that criminal cases be dealt with justly.
(2) Dealing with a criminal case justly includesâÇò
(a) acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty;
(b) dealing with the prosecution and the defence fairly;
(c) recognising the rights of a defendant, particularly those under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
(d) respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors and keeping them informed of the progress of the case;
(e) dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously;
(f) ensuring that appropriate information is available to the court when bail and sentence are considered; and
(g) dealing with the case in ways that take into accountâÇò
(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, mustâÇò
(a) prepare and conduct the case in accordance with the overriding objective;
(b) comply with these Rules, practice directions and directions made by the court; and
(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 whenâÇò
(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 |
Representatives |
rule 2.4 |
When the Rules apply
2.1. (1) In general, Criminal Procedure Rules applyâÇò
(a) in all criminal cases in magistrates' courts and in the Crown Court;
(b) in extradition cases in the High Court; and
(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 6th October, 2014, butâÇò
(a) unless the court otherwise directs, they do not affect a right or duty existing under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2013( 23); and
(b) unless the High Court otherwise directs, Section 3 of Part 17 (Extradition - appeal to the High Court) does not apply to a case in which notice of an appeal was given before that date.
(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, 2003âÇò
(a) the rules in Part 17 (Extradition) do not apply; and
(b) the rules in Part 17 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2012( 24) 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 2005( 25) ) were revoked when those Rules came into force by provisions of the Courts Act 2003, the Courts Act 2003 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2004( 26) and the Courts Act 2003 (Commencement No. 6 and Savings) Order 2004( 27) . 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 (RepublicofIreland) Act 1965( 28) or under the Extradition Act 1989( 29) . 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 2003( 30) , the 2003 Act came into force on 1stJanuary, 2004. However, article 3 of that Order( 31) provided 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 31stDecember, 2003.]
Definitions
2.2. (1) In these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant:
"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;
"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 1996( 32); 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 Acts of Parliament and to Statutory Instruments
2.3. In these Rules, where a rule refers to an Act of Parliament or to subordinate legislation by title and year, subsequent references to that Act or to that legislation in the rule are shortened: so, for example, after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996( 33) that Act is called "the 1996 Act'; and after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Defence Disclosure Time Limits) Regulations 2011( 34) those Regulations are called "the 2011 Regulations'.
Representatives
2.4. (1) Under these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant, anything that a party may or must do may be done-
(a) by a legal representative on that party's behalf;
(b) by a person with the corporation's written authority, where that corporation is a defendant;
(c) with the help of a parent, guardian or other suitable supporting adult where that party is a defendant-
(i) who is under 18, or
(ii) whose understanding of what the case involves is limited.
(2) A member, officer or employee of a prosecutor may, on the prosecutor's behalf-
(a) serve on the magistrates' court officer, or present to a magistrates' court, an information under section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980( 35); or
(b) issue a written charge and requisition under section 29 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003( 36).
[Note. See also section 122 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980( 37) . A party's legal representative must be entitled to act as such under section 13 of the Legal...
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