Sentencing Act 2020 (c. 17)

SECOND GROUP OF PARTS Provisions applying to sentencing courts generally

PART 3 Procedure

CHAPTER 4 Criminal courts charge

46 Criminal courts charge duty

(1) Where the criminal courts charge duty applies to a court in relation to an offender, the court must order the offender to pay a charge in respect of relevant court costs, unless—

(a) the offender was aged under 18 when the offence was committed,

(b) the offence was committed before 13 April 2015, or

(c) the case is, or is of a class, prescribed by the Lord Chancellor by regulations.

But this is subject to section 15(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (effect on duty when proceedings on confiscation order are postponed).

(2) In this section—

• “court costs” means costs of providing the judiciary and the rest of the system of courts, but does not include defence or prosecution costs;

• “relevant court costs” means court costs incurred in connection with—

  (a)

  criminal proceedings, or

  (b)

  proceedings for a relevant failure,

  but does not include costs of providing the Supreme Court or judges of that Court;

• “relevant failure” means a failure to comply with—

  (a)

  a requirement of a community order,

  (b)

  a community requirement of a suspended sentence order, or

  (c)

  a supervision requirement imposed under section 256AA of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

(3) In this Code, “criminal courts charge order” means an order under subsection (1).