Criminal Justice Act 1948

25 Power of courts of summary jurisdiction to adjourn a case after conviction and before sentence.

(1) It is hereby declared that the powers of a court of summary jurisdiction under section sixteen of the [11 & 12 Vict. c. 43.] Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848, to adjourn the hearing of a case includes power, after a person has been convicted and before he has been sentenced or otherwise dealt with, to adjourn the case for the purpose of enabling inquiries to be made or of determining the most suitable method of dealing with his case:

Provided that a court of summary jurisdiction shall not for the purpose aforesaid adjourn the hearing of a case under the said section sixteen for any single period exceeding three weeks.

(2) Where a person has been convicted of an offence by a court of summary jurisdiction and the case has been adjourned in pursuance of the said section sixteen or any other enactment relating to remand, he may be sentenced or otherwise dealt with for that offence by any court of summary jurisdiction acting for the same petty sessional division or place as the court by which he was convicted; and, in relation to any case required to be heard and determined by a court of summary jurisdiction consisting of two or more justices, the provisions of this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the proviso to section twenty-nine of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1848:

Provided that if the court by which a person is sentenced or otherwise dealt with does not wholly consist of the same justices as the court by which he was convicted, the court shall, inquire into the circumstances of the case before sentencing or otherwise dealing with him.