The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE RULES E+W

When the Rules apply E+W

2.1.—(1) In general, Criminal Procedure Rules apply―

(a) in all criminal cases in magistrates’ courts and in the Crown Court;

(b) in extradition cases in the High Court; and

(c) in all cases in the criminal division of the Court of Appeal.

(2) If a rule applies only in one or some of those courts, the rule makes that clear.

(3) These Rules apply on and after 5^th October, 2020, but unless the court otherwise directs, they do not affect a right or duty existing under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015(1).

[F1 (4) The amendments to Part 14 of these Rules (Bail and custody time limits) made by rule 7(a) and (b) of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 do not apply in relation to a defendant arrested before 28^th October, 2022, for an offence, or in relation to such a defendant who on or after that date is arrested again in relation to that offence under―

(a) section 46A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (arrest for failure to attend at a police station as required by police bail, or failure to comply with a condition of such bail); or

(b) section 24A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (arrest for failure to comply with a condition attached to a conditional caution).]

F2 (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F3 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[Note. The rules replaced by the first Criminal Procedure Rules (the Criminal Procedure Rules 2005(2)) were revoked when those Rules came into force by provisions of the Courts Act 2003, the Courts Act 2003 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2004(3) and the Courts Act 2003 (Commencement No. 6 and Savings) Order 2004(4). The first Criminal Procedure Rules reproduced the substance of all the rules they replaced.

F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F5 Amendments made by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to the pre-charge bail provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 came into force on 28^th October, 2022. Under section 45(3) of the 2022 Act, those amendments do not apply in the circumstances described in paragraph (4) of this rule.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Rule 2.1(4) inserted (3.4.2023) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/44), rules 1, 3(a)

F2 Rule 2.1(5) omitted (15.8.2022) by virtue of The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(b)(i)

F3 Rule 2.1(6) omitted (15.8.2022) by virtue of The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(b)(i)

F4 Words in rule 2.1 omitted (15.8.2022) by virtue of The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(b)(ii)

F5 Words in rule 2.1 inserted (3.4.2023) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/44), rules 1, 3(b)

Commencement Information

I1 Rule 2.1 in force at 5.10.2020, see Preamble

Definitions E+W

2.2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant:

‘advocate’ means a person who is entitled to exercise a right of audience in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007(5);

‘authorised court officer’ has the meaning given by rule 2.4;

‘business day’ means any day except Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday or a bank holiday;

‘court’ means a tribunal with jurisdiction over criminal cases. It includes a judge, recorder, District Judge (Magistrates’ Court), lay justice and, when exercising their judicial powers, the Registrar of Criminal Appeals and an authorised court officer;

‘court officer’ means the appropriate member of the staff of a court;

‘justices’ legal adviser’ means a person authorised under section 28 of the Courts Act 2003(6) to give advice about law to justices of the peace;

‘legal representative’ means:

(i)

the person for the time being named as a party’s representative in any legal aid representation order made under section 16 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012(7), or

(ii)

subject to that, the person named as a party’s representative in any notice for the time being given under rule 46.2 (Notice of appointment, etc. of legal representative: general rules), provided that person is entitled to conduct litigation in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007;

[F6 ‘live link’ means a live audio link or a live video link and:

(i)

‘live audio link’ means a live telephone link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can hear, and be heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person,

(ii)

‘live video link’ means a live television link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can see and hear, and be seen and heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person;

‘live link direction’ means a direction that requires or permits a person to take part through a live audio link or a live video link in the proceedings listed in section 51(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;]

‘Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions, as amended, and ‘Criminal Costs Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Practice Direction (Costs in Criminal Proceedings), as amended;

‘public interest ruling’ means a ruling about whether it is in the public interest to disclose prosecution material under sections 3(6), 7A(8) or 8(5) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996(8); and

‘Registrar’ means the Registrar of Criminal Appeals or a court officer exercising a function of the Registrar.

(2) [F7 Special definitions and definitions] of some other expressions are in the rules in which they apply.

[Note. The glossary at the end of the Rules is a guide to the meaning of certain legal expressions used in them.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Words in rule 2.2(1) substituted (15.8.2022) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(c)(i)

F7 Words in rule 2.2(2) substituted (15.8.2022) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(c)(ii)

Commencement Information

I2 Rule 2.2 in force at 5.10.2020, see Preamble

References to legislation, including these Rules E+W

2.3.—(1) In these Rules, where a rule refers to an Act of Parliament or to subordinate legislation by title and year, subsequent references to that Act or to that legislation in the rule are shortened: so, for example, after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996(9) that Act is called ‘the 1996 Act’; and after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Defence Disclosure Time Limits) Regulations 2011(10) those Regulations are called ‘the 2011 Regulations’.

(2) In the courts in which these Rules apply―

(a) unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant, a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules, without reference to a year, is a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules in force at the date on which the event concerned occurs or occurred;

(b) a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules may be abbreviated to ‘CrimPR’; and

(c) a reference to a Part or rule in the Criminal Procedure Rules may be abbreviated to, for example, ‘CrimPR Part 3’ or ‘CrimPR 3.5’.

Commencement Information

I3 Rule 2.3 in force at 5.10.2020, see Preamble

(1)

S.I. 2015/1490; amended by S.I. 2016/120, 2016/705, 2017/144, 2017/282, 2017/755, 2017/915, 2018/132, 2018/847, 2019/143, 2019/908, 2019/1119, 2020/32, 2020/417.

(2)

S.I. 2005/384; amended by S.I. 2006/353, 2006/2636, 2007/699, 2007/2317, 2007/3662, 2008/2076, 2008/3269 and 2009/2087.

(3)

S.I. 2004/2035.

(4)

S.I. 2004/2066.

(5)

2007 c. 29.

(6)

2003 c. 39; section 28 is substituted by section 3 of, and paragraph 26 of the Schedule to, the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018 (c. 33).

(7)

2012 c. 10.

(8)

1996 c. 25; section 7A was inserted by section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44).

(9)

1996 c. 25.

(10)

S.I. 2011/209.