Senior Courts Act 1981

47 Sentences and other orders of Crown Court when dealing with offenders. E+W

(1) A sentence imposed, or other order made, by the Crown Court when dealing with an offender shall take effect from the beginning of the day on which it is imposed, unless the court otherwise directs.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a sentence imposed, or other order made, by the Crown Court when dealing with an offender may be varied or rescinded by the Crown Court within the period of twenty-eight days beginning with the day on which the sentence or other order was imposed or made or, where subsection (3) applies, within the time allowed by that subsection.

(3) Where two or more persons are jointly tried on an indictment, then, subject to the following provisions of this section, a sentence imposed, or other order made, by the Crown Court on conviction of any of those persons on the indictment may be varied or rescinded by the Crown Court not later than the expiration of whichever is the shorter of the following periods, that is—

(a) the period of twenty-eight days beginning with the date of conclusion of the joint trial;

(b) the period of fifty-six days beginning with the day on which the sentence or other order was imposed or made.

For the purposes of this subsection the joint trial is concluded on the latest of the following dates, that is any date on which any of the persons jointly tried is sentenced, or is acquitted, or on which a special verdict is brought in.

(4) A sentence or other order shall not be varied or rescinded under this section except by the court constituted as it was when the sentence or other order was imposed or made, or, where that court comprised one or more justices of the peace, a court so constituted except for the omission of any one or more of those justices.

(5) Where a sentence or other order is varied under this section, the sentence or other order, as so varied, shall take effect from the beginning of the day on which it was originally imposed or made, unless the court otherwise directs:

Provided that for the purposes of section 18(2) of the M1 Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (time limit for notice of appeal or of application for leave to appeal) [F1 and for the purposes of paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (time limit for notice of an application for leave to refer a case under section 36 of that Act)] the sentence or other order shall be regarded as imposed or made on the day on which it is so varied.

(6) Crown Court Rules—

(a) may, as respects cases where two or more persons are tried separately on the same or related facts alleged in one or more indictments, provide for extending the period fixed by subsection (2);

(b) may, subject to the preceding provisions of this section, prescribe the cases and circumstances in which, and the time within which, any order or other decision made by the Crown Court may be varied or rescinded by that court.

(7) In this section—

• “order” does not include a [F2 contribution order made under section 23 of the Legal Aid Act 1988];

• “sentence” includes a recommendation for deportation made when dealing with an offender.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words inserted by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 123(6), 170(1), Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 15 para. 79

F2 Words substituted by Legal Aid Act 1988 (c. 34, SIF 77:1), ss. 45(1), Sch. 5 para. 10

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 47(2)(3) applied (3.2.1995) by 1994 c. 37, ss. 3(10), 69(2) (with s. 66(2))

Marginal Citations

M1 1968 c. 19.