41 Appeals to House of Lords in other criminal matters.U.K.
(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, an appeal shall lie to the House of Lords, at the instance of the defendant or the prosecutor,—
(a)from any decision of the High Court in a criminal cause or matter;
(b)from any decision of the Court of Appeal in a criminal cause or matter upon a case stated by a county court or a magistrates’ court.
(2)No appeal shall lie under this section except with the leave of the court below or of the House of Lords; and, subject to section 45(3), such leave shall not be granted unless it is certified by the court below that a point of law of general public importance is involved in the decision and it appears to that court or to the House of Lords, as the case may be, that the point is one which ought to be considered by that House.
(3)Section 5 of the M1Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (which regulates the composition of the House of Lords for the hearing and determination of appeals) shall apply to the hearing and determination of an appeal or application for leave to appeal under this section as it applies to the hearing and determination of an appeal under that Act; and any order of that House which provides for the hearing of such applications by a committee constituted in accordance with the said section 5 may direct that the decision of that committee shall be taken on behalf of the House.
(4)For the purpose of disposing of an appeal under this section the House of Lords may exercise any powers of the court below or may remit the case to that court.
(5)Schedule 1 shall have effect in relation to appeals under this section.
(6)In this section, sections 44 and 45 and Schedule 1—
(a)any reference to the defendant shall be construed—
(i)in relation to proceedings for an offence, and in relation to an application for an order of mandamus, prohibition or certiorari in connection with such proceedings, as a reference to the person who was or would have been the defendant in those proceedings;
(ii)in relation to any proceedings or order for or in respect of contempt of court, as a reference to the person against whom the proceedings were brought or the order was made;
(iii)in relation to a criminal application for habeas corpus, as a reference to the person by or in respect of whom that application was made,
and any reference to the prosecutor shall be construed accordingly;
(b)“application for habeas corpus” means an application for a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum and references to a criminal application or civil application shall be construed accordingly as the application does or does not constitute a criminal cause or matter;
(c)“leave to appeal” means leave to appeal to the House of Lords under this section;
(d)an appeal under this section shall be treated as pending until any application for leave to appeal is disposed of and, if leave to appeal is granted, until the appeal is disposed of and an application for leave to appeal shall be treated as disposed of at the expiration of the time within which it may be made, if it is not made within that time.
Marginal Citations