Explanatory note

These Rules amend the Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981, the Magistrates' Courts (Forms) Rules 1981 and the Magistrates' Courts (Advance Information) Rules 1985, pursuant, with one exception, to certain provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

Rule 2 makes miscellaneous amendments to the Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981 consequent upon the 1991 Act. These include amendment of rule 28 of those Rules to require the clerk of a magistrates' court, on the discharge by that court of a community order to notify the court which made the order of such discharge. Rule 2 also removes references to partly suspended sentences, the courts' powers to pass such sentences having been removed by the 1991 Act. Rule 2(l) requires a decision of the Secretary of State to make deductions from income support under section 24 of the 1991 Act to be entered in the magistrates' court register. Rule 2 also requires a statement of whether the court considered a pre-sentence report before passing custodial sentence to be entered in such a register, and such a statement to be sent to the Crown Court on an appeal against a custodial sentence.

Rule 2(e) amends rule 25(1) of the 1981 Rules to require a magistrates' court which transfers a remand hearing to notify the receiving court of the date set for the next remand hearing under section 128A of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, which was inserted by section 155 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and came into force on 2nd December 1991.

Rule 3, and the associated forms in the Schedule, makes numerous amendments to the Magistrates' Courts (Forms) Rules 1981. These include amendment of warrants of commitment to include the court’s reasons for being of the opinion that a custodial sentence is required, in accordance with section 1(5) of the 1991 Act, and a number of amendments to reflect the introduction of the unit fines system by section 18 of the 1991 Act. Other amendments are consequent upon the abolition by that Act of the partly suspended sentence. A number of new forms are provided concerning community orders, in particular those reflecting the introduction of combination orders under section 11 of the 1991 Act, and the new provisions on sentencing for breach, revocation and amendment of community orders made by Schedule 2 to the 1991 Act.

Rule 4 makes two amendments to the Magistrates' Courts (Advance Information) Rules 1985 as a result of provision in the 1991 Act that persons aged 17 are to be treated as young persons for certain purposes.