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Memorandum submitted by Ministry of Justice (CJ&I 406)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & IMMIGRATION BILL: COMMITTEE STAGE AMENDMENTS
I am writing to let you have details of the further Government amendments (copy attached for ease of reference) to the Bill which 1 have tabled today for Committee Stage.
The amendments address the following matters:
Parallel provisions for Northern Ireland and armed services
These amendments:
· make equivalent provision for Northern Ireland to Part 4 by placing the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on a statutory footing (annex A); and,
· make equivalent provision for the Service Courts in relation to 26 (appeals against convictions), 28 (review of sentence on reference by the Attorney General) and 62 (compensation for miscarriages of justice) (these amendments will be tabled shortly).
Evidence in respect of previous sexual history (amendments I and 3 in Annex B)
These technical amendments correct a couple of minor flaws in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 affecting protections for complainants in sexual offence cases covering cross-examination on previous sexual history; special measures applications and also a provision preventing cross-examination in person of child witnesses and adult complainants in all sexual offence cases prosecuted under pre-Sexual Offences Act 2003 legislation. The amendments are deemed to have effect as from I May 2004 when the Sexual Offences Act came into force; this gives statutory effect to the Court of Appeal recent judgment in the case of P v Cartwright which held that section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act applies to all prosecutions for sex offences, whether under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 or earlier legislation.
Amendments to the Criminal Appeals Act 1968
These essentially technical amendments to the Criminal Appeals Act 1968, and associated legislation, will strengthen the efficient and effective operation of the Court of Appeal; they reflect proposals put to us by the senior judiciary. The amendments would:
A. empower the Court of Appeal, when it quashes a conviction, to re-sentence the appellant for any other offence for which he was sentenced at the same time by the court below~
B. transfer to the Court of Appeal certain powers relating to the renewal and termination of interim hospital orders (where such orders are originally imposed by the Court of Appeal) which are currently exercised by the courts below; and to allow a single judge to exercise the renewal powers;
C. extend the powers of the Court of Appeal to compel the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses and ensure that evidence can be received by the Court for the purpose of dealing with an application for leave to appeal;
D. allow a single judge to exercise the power to give leave to appeal in certain interlocutory appeals;
E. allow a single judge to issue directions which cannot be appealed to a full Court of Appeal;
F. ensure that, when the prosecution successfully appeals to the House of Lords, the offender can be compelled to serve out any remainder of his sentence unless the Court of Appeal has made an order to the contrary;
G. extend (from 28 to 56 days) the time during which a sentence imposed by the Crown Court can be altered by that Court; and,
H. impose a time limit (of 28 days) on the trial judge's power to grant a certificate of fitness for appeal.
Parallel provision is also made for Northern Ireland. (These amendments will be tabled shortly.)
Amendment to defence disclosure requirements in the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Annex C)
As part of the disclosure scheme introduced by the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (and amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003), in Crown Court cases, the defence are subject to a mandatory requirement to serve the court and the prosecution with a statement setting out the nature of their defence and matters on which they take issue with the prosecution. This must be served within 14 days of receiving initial disclosure of relevant unused prosecution material. The sanction for failure to comply is the risk of adverse comment and/or an adverse inference being drawn by the jury. The purpose of the defence statement is both to assist the prosecution identify whether any further unused material should be disclosed and to assist the court in managing the trial by identifying the issues in dispute and so enabling the trial to be effectively focussed on these.
Despite these requirements, there continues to be a problem with late and inadequate defence statements, particularly in trials of terrorist and other complex cases resulting in unnecessary trial delays. This was commented upon in Observations made by the trial judge in the case of Ibrahim and others at Woolwich Crown Court on 11 July 2007. To address this, the proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act will require the defence to disclose before the trial, particulars of its own factual case.
Miscellaneous
These technical amendments to:
· clause 128 is consequential upon the amendments previously tabled to clauses 76 to 81 (mutual recognition of financial penalties) (Amendment 2 in Annex B);
· Schedule 22 will delete paragraph 12 of that Schedule (trial or sentencing in the absence of the accused in magistrates' court); the paragraph will no longer be needed if the Committee agrees Government amendment 203 to clause 57 (Amendment 4 in Annex A); and,
· clause 127 will ensure that amendments made by the Bill to existing legislation which already extends beyond the UK has the same extent as that legislation (this amendment will be tabled on Monday).
I am copying this letter and enclosure to members of the Committee, Lord Kingsland, Lord Thomas of Gresford and the Scrutiny Unit. I am also placing a copy in the Library and on the Ministry of Justice website.
November 2007
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