Rule 44N [ Procedure for the admission of evidence of bad character

Northern Ireland

(1)

A party who wants to adduce evidence of a non-defendant's bad character or to cross examine a witness with a view to eliciting such evidence, under Article 5 of the 2004 Order shall give notice in writing which shall be in Form 7E in the Schedule.

(2)

Notice under paragraph (1) shall be served on the chief clerk and every other party to the proceedings—

(a)

within 14 days from the date on which the prosecutor has complied or purported to comply with section 3 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996^f1 (disclosure by the prosecutor); or

(b)

as soon as is reasonably practicable, where the application concerns a non-defendant who is to be invited to give, or has given, evidence for a defendant.

(3)

Any party who wishes to oppose the application under paragraph (1) shall, within 14 days of the date on which the notice of the application was served on him, notify the chief clerk and every other party to the proceedings, in writing, of his opposition, giving reasons for it.

(4)

A prosecutor who wants to adduce evidence of a defendant's bad character or to cross examine a witness with a view to eliciting such evidence, under Article 6 of the 2004 Order, shall give notice in writing which shall be in Form 7F in the Schedule.

(5)

Notice under paragraph (4) shall be served on the chief clerk and every other party to the proceedings within 14 days from the date—

(a)

of the committal of the defendant; or

(b)

on which Notice of Transfer under Article 3 of the Criminal Justice (Serious Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988^f2 or under Article 4 of the Children's Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1995^f3 was given; or

(c)

on which leave to present an indictment under section 2(2)(e) of the Grand Jury (Abolition) Act (Northern Ireland) 1969^f4 was given, or

(d)

on which an order for retrial is made.

(6)

A co-defendant who wants to adduce evidence of a defendant's bad character or to cross examine a witness with a view to eliciting such evidence, under Article 6 of the 2004 Order shall give notice in writing which shall be in Form 7F in the Schedule.

(7)

Notice under paragraph (6) shall be served on the chief clerk and every other party to the proceedings within 14 days from the date on which the prosecutor has complied or purported to comply with section 3 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (disclosure by the prosecutor).

(8)

An application by a defendant to exclude bad character evidence shall be by notice in writing which shall be in Form 7G in the Schedule and shall be served on the chief clerk and on every other party to the proceedings within 7 days of the date that notice under paragraph (4) or paragraph (6) was served on him.

(9)

A defendant who is entitled to have notice served on him under this rule may waive his entitlement by so informing the Court and the party who would have served the notice.

(10)

The Court may, if it considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so—

(a)

allow notice or application required under this rule to be given in a different form, or orally; or

(b)

abridge or extend the time for service of a notice or application required under this rule, either before or after that period expires.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: 1996 c. 25; section 3 was amended by section 82(1) of paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 4 to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c. 23) and is prospectively amended by section 32 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44)
f2: S.I. 1998/1846 (N.I. 16)
f3: S.I. 1995/757 (N.I. 3)
f4: 1969 c. 15 (N.I.)
f5: Rules inserted by S.R. 2005 No. 80 with effect from 18.04.05