Article 4 Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015

in rule 3.1 (When this Part applies), after paragraph (2) insert—

“(3)

Rule 3.27 applies in a magistrates’ court unless―

(a)

the court sends the defendant for trial in the Crown Court; or

(b)

the case is one to which rule 24.8 or rule 24.9 applies (Written guilty plea: special rules; Single justice procedure: special rules).”; and

in rule 3.21 (Application for joint or separate trials, etc.), for paragraph (4) substitute—

“(4)

Where the same indictment charges more than one offence, the court may exercise its power to order separate trials of those offences if of the opinion that—

(a)

the defendant otherwise may be prejudiced or embarrassed in his or her defence (for example, where the offences to be tried together are neither founded on the same facts nor form or are part of a series of offences of the same or a similar character); or

(b)

for any other reason it is desirable that the defendant should be tried separately for any one or more of those offences.”.