Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Rules)
These Rules make the following amendments to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015, S.I. 2015/1490:
| Rule | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Part 2 | In rule 2.2 the definition of ‘live link’ is amended. |
| Part 3 | Rule 3.24 is amended to set the time limits within which a trial in the Crown Court must begin, in exercise of the power conferred on the Criminal Procedure Rules by section 77 of the Senior Courts Act 1981. |
| Part 4 | Rules 4.3 and 4.4 are amended to provide for service on the court officer of an application to a High Court judge for permission to serve a draft indictment. |
| Part 10 | Rule 10.3 is added to supply the procedure on an application to a High Court judge for permission to serve a draft indictment, in exercise of the power conferred on the Criminal Procedure Rules by section 2(6) of the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1933, as amended by section 82 of the Deregulation Act 2015. |
| Part 17 | Rules 17.3 and 17.5 are amended to clarify the procedure on an application to the court for an order under section 7 of the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act 1879. |
| Part 21 | Rule 21.4 is amended to require a defendant (i) to give notice of the introduction of evidence of his or her own bad character, and (ii) in the Crown Court, at the same time to give notice of any requested direction to the jury about the significance of that evidence. |
| Part 24 | Rule 24.3 is amended to provide for the identification of issues by the defendant at the beginning of trial in a magistrates’ court. |
| Part 25 | Rule 25.9 is amended to provide for the identification of issues by the defendant at the beginning of trial in the Crown Court. Rule 25.12 is amended to clarify the circumstances in which written witness statements must be read aloud in the Crown Court. |
| Part 34 | Rule 34.7 is amended to include explicit provision for applications for rulings during preparation for an appeal hearing in the Crown Court. Rule 34.11 is amended to include explicit provision for the conduct of case management by a judge without justices of the peace before such an appeal hearing begins, in exercise of the power conferred on the Criminal Procedure Rules by section 74 of the Senior Courts Act 1981. |
| Part 45 | Rule 45.3 is amended, and a note to the rule added, to draw attention to the application of time limits to the court’s powers to make some costs orders. Rules 45.8, 45.9 and 45.10 are amended to supply the procedure where the court requires assistance in assessing costs under one of those rules. |
| Part 47 | The rules in the current Part are substituted and rearranged, with some rules added, and some amended, to include new rules about production orders, search warrants and applications for the return of seized property, made in exercise of various powers recently conferred on the Criminal Procedure Rules. The new powers are contained in Schedule 1 to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Schedule 5 to the Terrorism Act 2000, section 352 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and section 59 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, all of which are amended by section 82 of the Deregulation Act 2015; and in sections 157 and 160 of the Extradition Act 2003, amended by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The current rules about (i) orders for the retention of fingerprints (Section 5 of the new Part 47 rules), (ii) investigation anonymity orders (Section 6 of the new Part) and (iii) investigation approval orders (Section 7) are rearranged and renumbered but otherwise unchanged. |
| Part 50 | Rule 50.21 is amended to redefine the time limit for a respondent’s notice in reply to an extradition appeal to the High Court. |
Rules 24.3, 25.14, 38.5, 43.2 and 45.1, and the Glossary entry for hearsay evidence, all are amended to correct cross-references which they contain.
These Rules come into force on 4th April 2016.