Search Legislation

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: Cross Heading: Witness anonymity orders

 Help about opening options

Alternative versions:

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, Cross Heading: Witness anonymity orders. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

Witness anonymity ordersU.K.

86Witness anonymity ordersU.K.

(1)In this Chapter a “witness anonymity order” is an order made by a court that requires such specified measures to be taken in relation to a witness in criminal proceedings as the court considers appropriate to ensure that the identity of the witness is not disclosed in or in connection with the proceedings.

(2)The kinds of measures that may be required to be taken in relation to a witness include measures for securing one or more of the following—

(a)that the witness's name and other identifying details may be—

(i)withheld;

(ii)removed from materials disclosed to any party to the proceedings;

(b)that the witness may use a pseudonym;

(c)that the witness is not asked questions of any specified description that might lead to the identification of the witness;

(d)that the witness is screened to any specified extent;

(e)that the witness's voice is subjected to modulation to any specified extent.

(3)Subsection (2) does not affect the generality of subsection (1).

(4)Nothing in this section authorises the court to require—

(a)the witness to be screened to such an extent that the witness cannot be seen by—

(i)the judge or other members of the court (if any), or

(ii)the jury (if there is one);

(b)the witness's voice to be modulated to such an extent that the witness's natural voice cannot be heard by any persons within paragraph (a)(i) or (ii).

(5)In this section “specified” means specified in the witness anonymity order concerned.

87ApplicationsU.K.

(1)An application for a witness anonymity order to be made in relation to a witness in criminal proceedings may be made to the court by the prosecutor or the defendant.

(2)Where an application is made by the prosecutor, the prosecutor—

(a)must (unless the court directs otherwise) inform the court of the identity of the witness, but

(b)is not required to disclose in connection with the application—

(i)the identity of the witness, or

(ii)any information that might enable the witness to be identified,

to any other party to the proceedings or his or her legal representatives.

(3)Where an application is made by the defendant, the defendant—

(a)must inform the court and the prosecutor of the identity of the witness, but

(b)(if there is more than one defendant) is not required to disclose in connection with the application—

(i)the identity of the witness, or

(ii)any information that might enable the witness to be identified,

to any other defendant or his or her legal representatives.

(4)Accordingly, where the prosecutor or the defendant proposes to make an application under this section in respect of a witness, any relevant material which is disclosed by or on behalf of that party before the determination of the application may be disclosed in such a way as to prevent—

(a)the identity of the witness, or

(b)any information that might enable the witness to be identified,

from being disclosed except as required by subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a).

(5)Relevant material” means any document or other material which falls to be disclosed, or is sought to be relied on, by or on behalf of the party concerned in connection with the proceedings or proceedings preliminary to them.

(6)The court must give every party to the proceedings the opportunity to be heard on an application under this section.

(7)But subsection (6) does not prevent the court from hearing one or more parties in the absence of a defendant and his or her legal representatives, if it appears to the court to be appropriate to do so in the circumstances of the case.

(8)Nothing in this section is to be taken as restricting any power to make rules of court.

88Conditions for making orderU.K.

(1)This section applies where an application is made for a witness anonymity order to be made in relation to a witness in criminal proceedings.

(2)The court may make such an order only if it is satisfied that Conditions A to C below are met.

(3)Condition A is that the proposed order is necessary—

(a)in order to protect the safety of the witness or another person or to prevent any serious damage to property, or

(b)in order to prevent real harm to the public interest (whether affecting the carrying on of any activities in the public interest or the safety of a person involved in carrying on such activities, or otherwise).

(4)Condition B is that, having regard to all the circumstances, the effect of the proposed order would be consistent with the defendant receiving a fair trial.

(5)Condition C is that the importance of the witness's testimony is such that in the interests of justice the witness ought to testify and—

(a)the witness would not testify if the proposed order were not made, or

(b)there would be real harm to the public interest if the witness were to testify without the proposed order being made.

(6)In determining whether the proposed order is necessary for the purpose mentioned in subsection (3)(a), the court must have regard (in particular) to any reasonable fear on the part of the witness—

(a)that the witness or another person would suffer death or injury, or

(b)that there would be serious damage to property,

if the witness were to be identified.

89Relevant considerationsU.K.

(1)When deciding whether Conditions A to C in section 88 are met in the case of an application for a witness anonymity order, the court must have regard to—

(a)the considerations mentioned in subsection (2) below, and

(b)such other matters as the court considers relevant.

(2)The considerations are—

(a)the general right of a defendant in criminal proceedings to know the identity of a witness in the proceedings;

(b)the extent to which the credibility of the witness concerned would be a relevant factor when the weight of his or her evidence comes to be assessed;

(c)whether evidence given by the witness might be the sole or decisive evidence implicating the defendant;

(d)whether the witness's evidence could be properly tested (whether on grounds of credibility or otherwise) without his or her identity being disclosed;

(e)whether there is any reason to believe that the witness—

(i)has a tendency to be dishonest, or

(ii)has any motive to be dishonest in the circumstances of the case,

having regard (in particular) to any previous convictions of the witness and to any relationship between the witness and the defendant or any associates of the defendant;

(f)whether it would be reasonably practicable to protect the witness by any means other than by making a witness anonymity order specifying the measures that are under consideration by the court.

90Warning to juryU.K.

(1)Subsection (2) applies where, on a trial on indictment with a jury, any evidence has been given by a witness at a time when a witness anonymity order applied to the witness.

(2)The judge must give the jury such warning as the judge considers appropriate to ensure that the fact that the order was made in relation to the witness does not prejudice the defendant.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act without Schedules as a PDF

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act without Schedules

The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open Schedules only

The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Impact Assessments

Impact Assessments generally accompany all UK Government interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector, civil society organisations and public services. They apply regardless of whether the regulation originates from a domestic or international source and can accompany primary (Acts etc) and secondary legislation (SIs). An Impact Assessment allows those with an interest in the policy area to understand:

  • Why the government is proposing to intervene;
  • The main options the government is considering, and which one is preferred;
  • How and to what extent new policies may impact on them; and,
  • The estimated costs and benefits of proposed measures.
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources