THIRD GROUP OF PARTSDisposals

PART 7Financial orders and orders relating to property

CHAPTER 1Fines

Availability

I1118Availability of fine: magistrates' court

1

A fine is available to a magistrates' court dealing with an offender for an offence if under the relevant offence provision a person who is convicted of that offence is liable to a fine.

2

If under the relevant offence provision the offender is liable to—

a

a fine of a specified amount,

b

a fine of not more than a specified amount,

the amount of the fine—

i

must not be more than that amount, but

ii

may be less than that amount (unless an Act passed after 31 December 1879 expressly provides to the contrary).

3

This is subject to—

a

section 121 (availability: fines not to be combined with certain other orders);

b

section 123 (limit on fines imposed by magistrates' courts in respect of young offenders).

4

In this section “relevant offence provision”, in relation to an offence, means—

a

the enactment creating the offence or specifying the penalty to which a person convicted of the offence is liable, or

b

that provision read in accordance with—

i

section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (removal of limit on certain fines on conviction by magistrates' court) and regulations under that section;

ii

section 86 of that Act (power to increase certain other fines on conviction by magistrates' court) and regulations under that section;

iii

section 32 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (penalties on summary conviction for offences triable either way);

iv

section 119 (power of magistrates' court to fine where only imprisonment etc specified);

v

section 122 (standard scale of fines),

and, for this purpose, “enactment” includes an enactment contained in a local Act or in any order, regulation or other instrument having effect by virtue of an Act.