Criminal Appeal Act 1968

Appeal against conviction on indictment

1 Right of appeal

(1) A person convicted of an offence on indictment may appeal to the Court of Appeal against his conviction.

(2) The appeal may be—

(a) on any ground which involves a question of law alone ; and

(b) with the leave of the Court of Appeal, on any ground which involves a question of fact alone, or a question of mixed law and fact, or on any other ground which appears to the Court of Appeal to be a sufficient ground of appeal;

but if the judge of the court of trial grants a certificate that the case is fit for appeal on a ground which involves a question of fact, or a question of mixed law and fact, an appeal lies under this section without the leave of the Court of Appeal.

2 Grounds for allowing appeal under s. 1

(1) Except as provided by this Act, the Court of Appeal shall allow an appeal against conviction if they think—

(a) that the verdict of the jury should be set aside on the ground that under all the circumstances of the case it is unsafe or unsatisfactory ; or

(b) that the judgment of the court of trial should be set aside on the ground of a wrong decision of any question of law; or

(c) that there was a material irregularity in the course of the trial,

and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal:

Provided that the Court may, notwithstanding that they are of opinion that the point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, dismiss the appeal if they consider that no miscarriage of justice has actually occurred.

(2) In the case of an appeal against conviction the Court shall, if they allow the appeal, quash the conviction.

(3) An order of the Court of Appeal quashing a conviction shall, except when under section 7 below the appellant is ordered to be retried, operate as a direction to the court of trial to enter, instead of the record of conviction, a judgment and verdict of acquittal.

3 Power to substitute conviction of alternative offence

(1) This section applies on an appeal against conviction, where the appellant has been convicted of an offence and the jury could on the indictment have found him guilty of some other offence, and on the finding of the jury it appears to the Court of Appeal that the jury must have been satisfied of facts which proved him guilty of the other offence.

(2) The Court may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the verdict found by the jury a verdict of guilty of the other offence, and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be authorised by law for the other offence, not being a sentence of greater severity.

4 Sentence when appeal allowed on part of an indictment

(1) This section applies where, on an appeal against conviction on an indictment containing two or more counts, the Court of Appeal allow the appeal in respect of part of the indictment.

(2) Except as provided by subsection (3) below, the Court may in respect of any count on which the appellant remains convicted pass such sentence, in substitution for any sentence passed thereon at the trial, as they think proper and is authorised by law for the offence of which he remains convicted on that count.

(3) The Court shall not under this section pass any sentence such that the appellant's sentence on the indictment as a whole will, in consequence of the appeal, be of greater severity than the sentence (taken as a whole) which was passed at the trial for all offences of which he was convicted on the indictment.

5 Disposal of appeal against conviction on special verdict

(1) This section applies on an appeal against conviction by a person in whose case the jury have found a special verdict.

(2) If the Court of Appeal consider that a wrong conclusion has been arrived at by the court of trial on the effect of the jury's verdict they may, instead of allowing the appeal, order such conclusion to be recorded as appears to them to be in law required by the verdict, and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be authorised by law.

6 Substitution of finding of insanity or unfitness to plead

(1) Where, on an appeal against conviction, the Court of Appeal are of opinion—

(a) that the proper verdict would have been one of not guilty by reason of insanity ; or

(b) that the case is not one where there should have been a verdict of acquittal, but that there should have been a finding that the accused was under disability,

the Court shall make an order that the appellant be admitted to such hospital as may be specified by the Secretary of State.

(2) Schedule 1 to this Act applies with respect to the consequences and effect of an order made by the Court of Appeal under this section.

(3) On making an order under this section in the case of any person, the Court of Appeal may give such directions as they think fit for his conveyance to a place of safety and his detention there pending his admission to hospital within the relevant period specified by Schedule 1 to this Act.

(4) In section 72 of the [1959 c. 72.] Mental Health Act 1959 (which relates to the removal to hospital of persons serving sentences of imprisonment and is applied by subsection (6) of the section to persons in other forms of detention) references to a person serving a sentence of imprisonment shall be construed as not including references to a person subject to an order of the Court of Appeal under this section.