Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Rules)
These Rules amend the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, S.I. 2020/759, as follows:
| Rule | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Part 2 | Rule 2.1 is amended to preserve rules in Part 14 otherwise amended by these Rules where the arrest to which they apply took place before 28th October 2022. This is to correspond with the effect of statutory amendments affecting pre-charge bail which the relevant Part 14 rules supplement. |
| Part 4 | Rule 4.6 is amended to remove a party’s obligation separately to notify the court officer of the service of a document on that officer where service is by uploading to an electronic court office address and notice is unnecessary. Rule 4.11 is amended correspondingly to define the date of service in such circumstances. |
| Part 5 | Rules 5.8 and 5.12 are amended the more clearly to distinguish the circumstances in which each applies. Rule 5.8 is also amended (i) to clarify the circumstances in which information about bail decisions must be given, and (ii) to require court staff to notify those to whom information is supplied under that rule that reporting restrictions may prohibit the publication of that information by the recipient. |
| Part 7 | The note to rule 7.2 is amended the more clearly to draw attention to the possibility that a specific time limit for the prosecution of a summary offence may displace the general time limit otherwise applicable; and to the particular need in such circumstances for the prosecutor to supply information sufficient to demonstrate that an application for the issue of a summons or warrant is made in time. |
| Part 14 | Rules 14.18 and 14.19 are amended to correspond with the effect of statutory amendments affecting pre-charge bail which each rule supplements. Rule 14.18 is also amended, by rule 7(c) of these Rules, to correct an error. |
| Part 17 | Rule 17.7 is amended to distinguish the conditions precedent to an application to withdraw a witness order made in a magistrates’ court (which conditions are not confined by statute) and the conditions precedent to a corresponding application in the Crown Court (which are so confined). Rules 17.7 and 17.8 are also amended for consistency of expression with other, more recently formulated, Criminal Procedure Rules. |
| Part 31 | Rule 31.3 is amended to correspond with amendments to the statutory provisions which the rule supplements. Rules 31.3 and 31.10 are also amended the more clearly to describe and accommodate the statutory provisions which those rules supplement for supervision and electronic monitoring. |
| Part 45 | Rule 45.4 is amended to omit superfluous words. |
| Part 47 | Rule 47.3 is amended to clarify the court officer’s obligations under the rule. Rule 47.25 is amended to omit superfluous words. |
These Rules come into force on 3rd April 2023.