Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015

70 Jurors and electronic communications devices: powers of search etc U.K.

(1) Part 4 of the Courts Act 2003 (court security officers) is amended as follows.

(2) After section 54 insert—

“54A Powers in relation to jurors' electronic communications devices

(1) This section applies where an order has been made under section 15A of the Juries Act 1974 (surrender of electronic communications devices by jurors) in respect of the members of a jury.

(2) A court security officer acting in the execution of the officer's duty must, if ordered to do so by a judge, search a member of the jury in order to determine whether the juror has failed to surrender an electronic communications device in accordance with the order.

(3) Subsection (2) does not authorise the officer to require a person to remove clothing other than a coat, jacket, headgear, gloves or footwear.

(4) If the search reveals a device which is required by the order to be surrendered—

(a) the officer must ask the juror to surrender the device, and

(b) if the juror refuses to do so, the officer may seize it.

(5) In this section, “electronic communications device” means a device that is designed or adapted for a use which consists of or includes the sending or receiving of signals that are transmitted by means of an electronic communications network (as defined in section 32 of the Communications Act 2003).”

(3) In section 55 (powers to retain articles surrendered or seized)—

(a) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) Subject to subsection (2), a court security officer may retain an article which was—

(a) surrendered in response to a request under section 54A(4)(a), or

(b) seized under section 54A(4)(b),

until the end of the period specified in the relevant order under section 15A of the Juries Act 1974.”, and

(b) in subsection (2), for paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a) the time specified in subsection (1) or (1A) (as appropriate), or”.

(4) In section 56(1)(a) (regulations about retention of articles)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (i), after “54(1)” insert “ or 54A(4)(a) ”, and

(b) in sub-paragraph (ii), after “54(2)” insert “ or 54A(4)(b) ”.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 70 in force at 13.4.2015 by S.I. 2015/778, art. 3, Sch. 1 para. 55