Explanatory note
England and Wales
(This note is not part of the Rules)
The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025:
revoke the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020, S.I. 2020/759, with the amendments made to those Rules by S.I. 2021/40, 2021/849, 2022/45, 2022/815, 2023/44, 2023/786, 2024/62, 2024/842 and 2025/60;
consolidate and replace the provision made by those rules; and
include the further rule amendments listed beneath.
| Rule | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Part 2 | Rule 2.1 is amended to provide for the transition from the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025. Transitional provisions for some applications to authorise extensions of pre-charge bail that were included in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 are omitted. Rule 2.7 is amended to allow an authorised court officer in the Crown Court to amend a community order or a suspended sentence order where a probation officer has allowed an offender to change the local justice area in which they reside. |
| Part 3 | Rule 3.2 is amended to remove the implication that the court may direct a reporting or access restriction only on an application. Rules 3.16 and 3.21 are amended to require routine consideration of reporting and comparable restrictions during preparation for trial. |
| Part 5 | Rules 5.8 and 5.11 are amended to remove the implication that the court may withhold information only by reason of a reporting restriction. |
| Part 6 | Rule 6.2 is amended to ensure that a prospective court reporter is recognised as a person directly affected by a reporting restriction. Rules 6.4 and 6.5 are amended to accommodate arrangements that facilitate notice to such a reporter of an application for a reporting restriction. |
| Part 17 | The notes to rules 17.1 and 17.2 are rearranged and expanded to refer to every statutory provision to which those rules now refer. Rule 17.2 is amended to refer to each statutory provision under which a proposed witness may be summoned or brought to court to give evidence. Rule 17.3 is amended to apply to the issue of a summons or warrant requiring a proposed witness to attend court to make a deposition under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Rule 17.8 is added to provide for the taking of such a deposition. |
| Part 24 | Rule 24.2 is amended to require magistrates’ courts, immediately before proceeding to trial, to review (i) the need for reporting or comparable directions, and (ii) arrangements for public observation and reporting. |
| Part 25 | Rule 25.2 is amended to require the Crown Court, immediately before proceeding to trial, to review (i) the need for reporting or comparable directions, and (ii) arrangements for public observation and reporting. |
| Part 42 | Rules 42.11 and 42.15 are amended to require service of a notice of appeal in confiscation proceedings on the Registrar of Criminal Appeals, not on the Crown Court officer. Rule 42.20 is amended to apply to all the appeals to which Part 42 applies. Rules 42.5, 42.11, 42.12, 42.13, 42.15, 42.16 and 42.21 are amended to correspond with comparable rules in Parts 36 to 40, which govern other types of appeal to the Court of Appeal. |
| Glossary | The glossary that was contained in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 is omitted. |
Rule 17.8 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 is renumbered rule 17.9 to accommodate new rule 17.8 (described above).
Rules 18.14 to 18.17 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 were revoked by the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024, S.I. 2024/62. To accommodate their omission, in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 rules 18.18 to 18.28 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 become rules 18.14 to 18.24 respectively.
Rules 33.2, 33.3, 33.47, 33.48, 33.49 and 33.50 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 were revoked by the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024, S.I. 2024/62. To accommodate their omission, in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025:
rules 33.4 to 33.46 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 become rules 33.2 to 33.44 respectively; and
rules 33.51 to 33.70 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 become rules 33.45 to 33.64 respectively.
Amendments to cross-references. The following rules, and notes to rules (‘n’), are amended to bring up to date the cross-references that they contain, both generally and in consequence of the re-numbering of rules in Parts 18 and 33: 3.8, 3.8(n), 3.9, 9.5, 9.10(n), 18.3, 18.4(n), 18.5, 18.5(n), 18.20, Part 18 Summary of eligibility for measures to which the Part applies, 22.3, 22.3(n), 25.16(n), 33.11(n), 33.24, 33.25, 33.28, 33.29, 33.31, 33.44, 33.45, 33.48, 33.50, 33.51, 36.8, 36.14, 39.3, 40.3, 40.6, 42.2, 45.1(n), 45.11, 48.5(n), 48.9 and 48.9(n).
Amendments for consistency of expression. Rules 33.2(3) and 33.48(3) are amended for consistency of the possessive of “witness” with other instances of that word in these Rules. Rules 34.4(4) and 36.8(2) are amended for consistency of expression with amended rule 42.5(2).
These Rules come into force on 6th October 2025.