Criminal Justice Bill

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House of Lords

Session 2002 - 03
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Criminal Justice Bill

Criminal Justice Bill

EXPLANATORY NOTES
Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Home Office, will be published
separately as HL Bill 69–EN.
EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
The Lord Falconer of Thoroton has made the following statement under section
19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998:
In my view the provisions of the Criminal Justice Bill are compatible with the
Convention rights.

HL Bill 69 53/2

Criminal Justice Bill

Contents
Part 1
Amendments of Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
General amendments
      1         Extension of powers to stop and search
      2         Warrants to enter and search
      3         Bail elsewhere than at police station
      4         Use of telephones for review of police detention
      5         Limits on period of detention without charge
      6         Property of detained persons
      7         Taking fingerprints without consent
      8         Taking non-intimate samples without consent
      9         Codes of practice
      10         Amendments related to this Part
Amendments relating to drugs
      11         Power of arrest for possession of Class C drugs
      12         Drug testing for under-eighteens
Part 2
Bail
      13         Grant and conditions of bail
      14         Offences committed on bail
      15         Absconding by persons released on bail
      16         Appeal to Crown Court
      17         Appeals to High Court
      18         Appeal by prosecution
      19         Drug users: restriction on bail
      20         Supplementary amendments to the Bail Act 1976
      21         Interpretation of Part 2

HL Bill 69 53/2

Criminal Justice Bill
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Part 3
Conditional cautions
      22         Conditional cautions
      23         The five requirements
      24         Failure to comply with conditions
      25         Code of practice
      26         Interpretation of Part 3
Part 4
Charging etc
      27         Charging or release of persons in police detention
      28         New method of instituting proceedings
      29         Further provision about new method
      30         Removal of requirement to substantiate information on oath
Part 5
Disclosure
      31         Initial duty of disclosure by prosecutor
      32         Defence disclosure
      33         Notification of intention to call defence witnesses
      34         Notification of names of experts instructed by defendant
      35         Further provisions about defence disclosure
      36         Continuing duty of disclosure by prosecutor
      37         Application by defence for disclosure
      38         Faults in defence disclosure
Part 6
Allocation and sending of offences
      39         Allocation of offences triable either way, and sending cases to Crown Court
      40         Mode of trial for certain firearms offences: transitory arrangements
Part 7
Trials on indictment without a jury
      41         Application by defendant for trial to be conducted without jury
      42         Applications by prosecution for certain complex or lengthy trials to be
conducted without jury
      43         Application by prosecution for trial to be conducted without jury where
danger of jury tampering
      44         Procedure for applications under sections 41 to 43
      45         Discharge of jury because of jury tampering
      46         Appeals
      47         Further provision about trials without a jury
      48         Rules of court
      49         Application of Part 7 to Northern Ireland

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Part 8
Live links
      50         Live links in criminal proceedings
      51         Effect of, and rescission of, direction
      52         Magistrates’ courts permitted to sit at other locations
      53         Warning to jury
      54         Rules of court
      55         Interpretation of Part 8
Part 9
Prosecution appeals
      56         Meaning of “terminating ruling”
      57         Prosecution right of appeal against certain rulings
      58         Appeals against terminating rulings
      59         Appeals against certain other rulings
      60         Expedited and non-expedited appeals
      61         Continuation of proceedings for offences not affected by ruling
      62         Determination of appeal by Court of Appeal
      63         Appeals to the House of Lords
      64         Costs
      65         Effect on time limits in relation to preliminary stages
      66         Restrictions on reporting
      67         Offences in connection with reporting
      68         Interpretation of Part 9
Part 10
Retrial for serious offences
Cases that may be retried
      69         Cases that may be retried
Application for retrial
      70         Application to Court of Appeal
      71         Determination by Court of Appeal
      72         New and compelling evidence
      73         Interests of justice
      74         Procedure and evidence
      75         Appeals
      76         Restrictions on publication in the interests of justice
Retrial
      77         Retrial
Investigations
      78         Authorisation of investigations

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      79         Urgent investigative steps
Arrest, custody and bail
      80         Arrest and charge
      81         Bail and custody before application
      82         Bail and custody before hearing
      83         Bail and custody during and after hearing
      84         Revocation of bail
Part 10: supplementary
      85         Functions of the DPP
      86         Rules of Court
      87         Armed Forces: Part 10
      88         Interpretation of Part 10
      89         Application of Part 10 to Northern Ireland
Part 11
Evidence
Chapter 1
Evidence of bad character
Introductory
      90         “Bad character”
      91         Abolition of common law rules
Persons other than defendants
      92         Non-defendant’s bad character
Defendants
      93         Defendant’s bad character
      94         “Important explanatory evidence”
      95         Offences “of the same description” or “of the same category”
      96         “Matter in issue between the defendant and the prosecution”
      97         “Matter in issue between the defendant and a co-defendant”
      98         “Evidence to correct a false impression”
      99         “Attack on another person’s character”
      100         Stopping the case where evidence contaminated
      101         Offences committed by defendant when a child
General
      102         Assumption of truth in assessment of relevance or probative value
      103         Court’s duty to give reasons for rulings
      104         Rules of court
      105         Interpretation of Chapter 1
      106         Armed forces

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Chapter 2
Hearsay evidence
Hearsay: main provisions
      107         Admissibility of hearsay evidence
      108         Statements and matters stated
Principal categories of admissibility
      109         Cases where a witness is unavailable
      110         Business and other documents
      111         Preservation of certain common law categories of admissibility
      112         Inconsistent statements
      113         Other previous statements of witnesses
Supplementary
      114         Multiple hearsay
      115         Documents produced as exhibits
      116         Capability to make statement
      117         Credibility
      118         Stopping the case where evidence is unconvincing
      119         Court’s general discretion to exclude evidence
Miscellaneous
      120         Expert evidence: preparatory work
      121         Confessions
      122         Representations other than by a person
      123         Depositions
      124         Evidence at retrial
General
      125         Rules of court
      126         Proof of statements in documents
      127         Interpretation of Chapter 2
      128         Armed forces
      129         Repeals etc
Chapter 3
Miscellaneous and supplemental
      130         Evidence by video recording
      131         Video evidence: further provisions
      132         Use of documents to refresh memory
      133         Interpretation of Chapter 3
      134         Saving

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Part 12
Sentencing
Chapter 1
General provisions about sentencing
Matters to be taken into account in sentencing
      135         Purposes of sentencing
      136         Determining the seriousness of an offence
      137         Reduction in sentences for guilty pleas
      138         Increase in sentences for racial or religious aggravation
General restrictions on community sentences
      139         Meaning of “community sentence” etc.
      140         Restrictions on imposing community sentences
      141         Passing of community sentence on offender remanded in custody
      142         Community sentence not available where sentence fixed by law etc.
      143         Community order for persistent offender previously fined
General restrictions on discretionary custodial sentences
      144         General restrictions on imposing discretionary custodial sentences
      145         Length of discretionary custodial sentences: general provision
General limit on magistrates’ court’s power to impose imprisonment
      146         General limit on magistrates’ court’s power to impose imprisonment
      147         Consecutive terms of imprisonment
      148         Power to increase limits
Procedural requirements for imposing community sentences and discretionary custodial
sentences
      149         Pre-sentence reports and other requirements
      150         Additional requirements in case of mentally disordered offender
      151         Meaning of “pre-sentence report”
Disclosure of pre-sentence reports etc
      152         Disclosure of pre-sentence reports
      153         Other reports of local probation boards and members of youth offending
teams
Pre-sentence drug testing
      154         Pre-sentence drug testing
Fines
      155         Powers to order statement as to offender’s financial circumstances

© Parliamentary copyright 2003
Revised 23 May 2003