Section 13: Complaints triable together
82.This section inserts a new section 152A into the 1995 Act and provides that where the accused is appearing for trial on two or more complaints on the same day the prosecutor may apply to the court to have all the charges tried together, notwithstanding that they are on separate complaints. The court, if it considers it expedient to do so, is to try the charges together. However, for further proceedings including sentence the complaints are to be treated separately. This provision will allow a court where there is more than one complaint against an accused for trial on the same day to conjoin the complaints to allow evidence in respect of all the charges to be led and the verdict returned in the one trial. Presently a separate trial in respect of each complaint is required with a separate verdict on each complaint being returned.
