The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020

Exercise of court’s powers: extension of pre-charge bail

14.20.—(1) The court must determine an application to which rule 14.21 (Application to authorise extension of pre-charge bail) applies—

(a) without a hearing, subject to paragraph (2); and

(b) as soon as practicable, but as a general rule no sooner than the fifth business day after the application was served.

(2) The court must determine an application at a hearing where—

(a) if the application succeeds, its effect will be to extend the period for which the defendant is on bail to less than 12 months from the day after the defendant’s arrest for the offence and the court considers that the interests of justice require a hearing;

(b) if the application succeeds, its effect will be to extend that period to more than 12 months from that day and the applicant or the defendant asks for a hearing; or

(c) it is an application to withhold information from the defendant and the court considers that the interests of justice require a hearing.

(3) Any hearing must be in private.

(4) Subject to rule 14.22 (Application to withhold information from the defendant), at a hearing the court may determine an application in the absence of—

(a) the applicant; and

(b) the defendant, if the defendant has had at least 5 business days in which to make representations.

(5) If the court so directs, a party to an application may attend a hearing by live link or telephone.

(6) The court must not authorise an extension of the period for which a defendant is on bail before being charged unless—

(a) the applicant states, in writing or orally, that to the best of the applicant’s knowledge and belief—

(i) the application discloses all the information that is material to what the court must decide, and

(ii) the content of the application is true; or

(b) the application includes a statement by an investigator of the suspected offence that to the best of that investigator’s knowledge and belief those requirements are met.

(7) Where the statement required by paragraph (6) is made orally—

(a) the statement must be on oath or affirmation, unless the court otherwise directs; and

(b) the court must arrange for a record of the making of the statement.

(8) The court may shorten or extend (even after it has expired) a time limit imposed by this rule or by rule 14.21 (Application to authorise extension of pre-charge bail).

[Note. For the definition of ‘defendant’ for the purposes of this rule and rules 14.21 and 14.22, see rule 14.1(3).

Sections 47ZA and 47ZB of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(1) limit the period during which a defendant who has been arrested for an offence may be on bail after being released without being charged. That period (‘the applicable bail period’) is—

(a) 3 months from the day after the day on which the defendant was arrested (the defendant’s ‘bail start date’) in ‘an SFO case’ (that is, a case investigated by the Serious Fraud Office);

(b) 28 days from the defendant’s bail start date in ‘a standard case’ (that is, ‘an FCA case’, meaning a case investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority, or any other non-SFO case).

Under sections 47ZC and 47ZD of the 1984(2) Act, in a standard case the applicable bail period may be extended on the authority of a police officer of the rank of superintendent or above until the end of 3 months from the bail start date.

Under sections 47ZC and 47ZE of the Act(3), if the case is designated by a qualifying prosecutor as exceptionally complex (a ‘designated case’) the applicable bail period may be extended, in an SFO case, or further extended, in a standard case, on the authority of one of the senior officers listed in section 47ZE, until the end of 6 months from the bail start date.

Under section 47ZF of the Act(4), on an application made before the date on which the applicable bail period ends by a member of the Serious Fraud Office, a member of staff of the Financial Conduct Authority, a constable or a Crown Prosecutor, a magistrates’ court may authorise an extension of that period—

(a) from a previous total of 3 months to a new total of 6 months or, if the investigation is unlikely to be completed or a police charging decision made within a lesser period, a new total of 9 months;

(b) from a previous total of 6 months to a new total of 9 months or, if the investigation is unlikely to be completed or a police charging decision made within a lesser period, a new total of 12 months,

where the conditions listed in that section are met.

Under section 47ZG of the Act(5), on a further such application (of which there may be more than one) a magistrates’ court may authorise a further extension of the applicable bail period, on each occasion by a further 3 months or, if the investigation is unlikely to be completed or a police charging decision made within a lesser period, a further 6 months, where the conditions listed in that section are met.

Under section 47ZL of the Act(6), the running of the applicable bail period does not begin (in the case of a first release on bail) or is suspended (in any other case) where—

(a) the defendant is released on bail to await a charging decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions under section 37B of the Act; or

(b) following arrest for breach of such bail the defendant is again released on bail.

The court’s authority therefore is not required for an extension of an applicable bail period the running of which is postponed or suspended pending a Director’s charging decision. However—

(a) time runs in any period during which information requested by the Director is being obtained; and

(b) if the Director requests information less than 7 days before the applicable bail period otherwise would end then the running of that period is further suspended until the end of 7 days beginning with the day on which the Director’s request is made.

See also section 47ZI of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(7) (Sections 47ZF to 47ZH: proceedings in magistrates’ courts). The requirement for the court except in specified circumstances to determine an application without a hearing is prescribed by that section. Under that section the court must comprise a single justice of the peace unless a hearing is convened, when it must comprise two or more justices.]

(1)

1984 c. 60; sections 47ZA and 47ZB were inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(2)

1984 c. 60; sections 47ZC and 47ZD were inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(3)

1984 c. 60; section 47ZE was inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(4)

1984 c. 60; section 47ZF was inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(5)

1984 c. 60; section 47ZG was inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(6)

1984 c. 60; section 47ZL was inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).

(7)

1984 c. 60; section 47ZI was inserted by section 63 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c. 3).