# The Criminal Justice (Serious Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988, Article 8: The preparatory hearing

Extent: N.I.

(1) At the preparatory hearing the judge may exercise any of the powers speciﬁed in this Article.
(2) The judge may adjourn a preparatory hearing from time to time.
(3) He may determine—
(a) any question as to the admissibility of evidence; and
(aa) a question arising under Article 43 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (relevance of external law to certain charges of conspiracy, attempt and incitement); and
(b) any other question of law relating to the case.
(4) He may order the prosecution—
(a) to supply the court and the defendant or, if there is more than one, each of them with a statement (a case statement ) of the following—
(i) the principal facts of the prosecution case;
(ii) the witnesses who will speak to those facts;
(iii) any exhibits relevant to those facts;
(iv) any proposition of law on which the prosecution proposes to rely; and
(v) the consequences in relation to any of the counts in the indictment that appear to the prosecution to ﬂow from the matters stated in pursuance of heads (i) to (iv);
(b) to prepare their evidence and other explanatory material in such a form as appears to him to be likely to aid comprehension by a jury and to supply it in that form to the court and to the defendant or, if there is more than one, to each of them;
(c) to give the court and the defendant or, if there is more than one, each of them notice of documents the truth of the contents of which ought in the prosecution's view to be admitted and of any other matters which in their view ought to be agreed;
(d) to make any amendments of any case statement supplied in pursuance of an order under sub‐paragraph ( a ) that appear to the court to be appropriate, having regard to objections made by the defendant or, if there is more than one, by any of them.
(5) Where—
(a) a judge has ordered the prosecution to supply a case statement; and
(b) the prosecution have complied with the order,
he may order the defendant or, if there is more than one, each of them—
Sub-para. (i) rep. by 2003 c. 44
(ii) to give the court and the prosecution notice of any objections that he has to the case statement;
Sub-para. (iii) rep. by 2003 c. 44
(iv) to give the court and the prosecution a notice stating the extent to which he agrees with the prosecution as to documents and other matters to which a notice under paragraph (4)( c ) relates and the reason for any disagreement.
(6) Crown Court rules may provide that except to the extent that disclosure is required
(a) by section 5(7) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996; or
(b) by Article 80 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (expert evidence)
a summary required by virtue of paragraph (5) need not disclose who will give evidence.
(7) A judge making an order under paragraph (5) shall warn the defendant or, if there is more than one, all of them of the possible consequence under Article 9. . . of not complying with it.
(8) If it appears to a judge that reasons given in pursuance of paragraph (5)(iv) are inadequate, he shall so inform the person giving them, and may require him to give further or better reasons.
(9) An order under this Article may specify the time within which any speciﬁed requirement contained in it is to be complied with, but Crown Court rules may make provision as to the minimum or maximum time that may be speciﬁed for compliance.
(10) An order or ruling made under this Article shall have eﬀect during the trial, unless it appears to the judge, on application made to him during the trial, that the interests of justice require him to vary or discharge it.
(11) An appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal from any order or ruling of a judge under paragraph (3), from the refusal by a judge of an application to which section 45 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 applies or from an order of a judge under section 43 or 44 of that Act which is made on the determination of such an application, but only with the leave of the judge or of the Court of Appeal.
(12) The judge may continue a preparatory hearing notwithstanding that leave to appeal has been granted under paragraph (11), but the preparatory hearing shall not be concluded until after the appeal has been determined or abandoned.
(13) On the termination of the hearing of an appeal, the Court of Appeal may conﬁrm, reverse or vary the decision appealed against.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1988/1846/article/8 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-serious-fraud-northern-ireland-order-1988/article-8
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.