{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-rules-2025/rule-18.5",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-rules-2025/rule-18.5.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2025/909",
  "legislation_title": "The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-procedure-rules-2025",
  "path": "rule/18.5",
  "kind": "rule",
  "number": "18.5",
  "heading": "Decisions and reasons",
  "text": "(1) A party who wants to introduce the evidence of a witness who is the subject of an application, direction or order must—\n(a) inform the witness of the court’s decision as soon as reasonably practicable; and\n(b) explain to the witness the arrangements that as a result will be made for him or her to give evidence.\n(2) The court must—\n(a) promptly determine an application; and\n(b) allow a party sufficient time to comply with the requirements of—\n(i) paragraph (1), and\n(ii) the code of practice issued under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 or under section 2 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.\n(3) The court must announce, at a hearing in public before the witness gives evidence or the defendant’s trial begins (as the case may be), the reasons for a decision—\n(a) to give, make, vary or discharge a direction or order; or\n(b) to refuse to do so.\n[Note. See section 20(5) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 and sections 51(8) and 52(7) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.\nUnder section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, the Secretary of State for Justice must issue a code of practice as to the services to be provided by specified persons to a victim of criminal conduct. Section 2 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 imposes a corresponding obligation. Under section 2(13) of the 2024 Act, until the first code of practice issued under section 2 is in operation, references in sections 5 to 12 and 32 of that Act to the “victims’ code” are references to the code of practice issued under section 32 of the 2004 Act for the time being in operation.]",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in rule 18.5 Note substituted (23.2.2026) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2026 (S.I. 2026/47), rule 2, Sch. para. 6"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Rule 18.5 in force at 6.10.2025, see Preamble"
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "2004 c. 28; section 32 was amended by article 8 of, and paragraph 10 of the Schedule to, S.I. 2007/2128."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "2024 c. 21."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "2003 c. 44."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "word inserted",
      "affecting": "uksi/2026/721",
      "affecting_title": "The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "word omitted",
      "affecting": "uksi/2026/721",
      "affecting_title": "The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/909/rule/18.5",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T21:12:44.140935+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}