The Magistrates' Courts (Amendment) Rules 1995

Statutory Instruments

1995 No. 585 (L. 3)

MAGISTRATES' COURTS

PROCEDURE

The Magistrates' Courts (Amendment) Rules 1995

Made

7th March 1995

Laid before Parliament

8th March 1995

Coming into force

10th April 1995

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 144 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980(1) and in pursuance of section 5B(9) of the Bail Act 1976(2), after consultation with the Rule Committee appointed under the said section 144, hereby makes the following Rules:

1.  These Rules may be cited as the Magistrates' Courts (Amendment) Rules 1995 and shall come into force on 10th April 1995.

2.—(1) The Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981(3) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this rule.

(2) After rule 84, there shall be inserted the following rule:

“Procedure on application for bail following grant of conditional police bail

84A.— (1) An application under section 43B(1) of the Act of 1980(4) shall—

(a) be made in writing;

(b) contain a statement of the grounds upon which it is made;

(c) specify the offence with which the applicant was charged before his release on bail;

(d) specify, or be accompanied by a copy of the note of, the reasons given by the custody officer for imposing or varying the conditions of bail; and

(e) specify the name and address of any surety provided by the applicant before his release on bail to secure his surrender to custody.

(2) Any such application shall be sent to the clerk of—

(a) the magistrates' court (if any) appointed by the custody officer as the court before which the applicant has a duty to appear; or

(b) if no such court has been appointed, a magistrates' court acting for the petty sessions area in which the police station at which the applicant was granted bail or at which the conditions of his bail were varied, as the case may be, is situated;

and, in either case, a copy shall be sent to a custody officer appointed for that police station.

(3) The clerk to whom an application is sent under paragraph (2) shall send a notice in writing of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing of the application to—

(a) the applicant;

(b) the prosecutor; and

(c) any surety in connection with bail in criminal proceedings granted to, or the conditions of which were varied by a custody officer in relation to, the applicant.

(4) The time fixed for the hearing shall be not later than 72 hours after receipt of the application. In reckoning for the purposes of this paragraph any period of 72 hours, no account shall be taken of Christmas Day, Good Friday, any bank holiday, or any Saturday or Sunday.

(5) Any notice required by this rule to be sent to any person shall either be delivered to him or be sent by post in a letter and, if sent by post to the applicant or a surety of his, shall be addressed to him at his last known or usual place of abode.

(6) If the magistrates' court hearing an application under section 43B(1) of the Act of 1980 discharges or enlarges any recognizance entered into by any surety or increases or reduces the amount in which that person is bound, the clerk of the court shall forthwith give notice thereof to the applicant and to any such surety.

(7) In this rule, “the applicant” means the person making an application under section 43B(1) of the Act of 1980.”.

(3) After rule 93A(5) there shall be inserted the following rule:

“Procedure on reconsideration of a decision to grant bail

93B.— (1) The appropriate court for the purposes of section 5B of the Bail Act 1976 in relation to the decision of a constable to grant bail shall be—

(a) the magistrates' court (if any) appointed by the custody officer as the court before which the person to whom bail was granted has a duty to appear; or

(b) if no such court has been appointed, a magistrates' court acting for the petty sessions area in which the police station at which bail was granted is situated.

(2) An application under section 5B(1) of the Bail Act 1976 shall—

(a) be made in writing;

(b) contain a statement of the grounds on which it is made;

(c) specify the offence which the proceedings in which bail was granted were connected with, or for;

(d) specify the decision to be reconsidered (including any conditions of bail which have been imposed and why they have been imposed); and

(e) specify the name and address of any surety provided by the person to whom the application relates to secure his surrender to custody.

(3) The clerk of a magistrates' court to which an application has been made under section 5B of the Bail Act 1976 shall fix a date, time and place for the hearing of the application and shall give notice of the application and of the date, time and place so fixed in the prescribed form to the person affected and send a copy of the notice to the prosecutor who made the application and to any surety specified in the application.

(4) The time fixed for the hearing shall be not later than 72 hours after receipt of the application. In reckoning for the purpose of this paragraph any period of 72 hours, no account shall be taken of Christmas Day, Good Friday, any bank holiday or any Sunday.

(5) Service of a notice to be given under paragraph (3) to the person affected may be effected by delivering it to him.

(6) At the hearing of an application under section 5B of the Bail Act 1976 the court shall consider any representations made by the person affected (whether in writing or orally) before taking any decision under that section with respect to him; and, where the person affected does not appear before the court, the court shall not take such a decision unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, on oath or in the manner prescribed by paragraph (1) of rule 67, that the notice required to be given under paragraph (3) was served on him before the hearing.

(7) Where the court proceeds in the absence of the person affected in accordance with paragraph (6)—

(a) if the decision of the court is to vary the conditions of bail or impose conditions in respect of bail which has been granted unconditionally, the clerk of the court shall notify the person affected in the prescribed form;

(b) if the decision of the court is to withhold bail, the order of the court under section 5B(5)(b) of the Bail Act 1976 (surrender to custody) shall be signed by the justice issuing it or state his name and be authenticated by the signature of the clerk of the court and shall be in the prescribed form.

(8) Service of any of the documents referred to in paragraph (7) may be effected by delivering it to the person to whom it is directed or by leaving it for him with some person at his last known or usual place of abode.”.

3.—(1) Schedule 2 to The Magistrates' Courts (Forms) Rules 1981(6) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this rule.

(2) After the form numbered 153, there shall be added the forms numbered 153A, 153B and 153C in the Schedule to these Rules.

Mackay of Clashfern, C.

Dated 7th March 1995

Rule 3

SCHEDULE MAGISTRATES' COURTS (FORMS) RULES 1981

FORM 153A Notice of hearing to reconsider a decision to grant bail(Bail Act 1976, s.5B; M.C. Rules 1981, r.93B)

FORM 153B Notice of decision to vary conditions of bail or impose conditionson bail granted unconditionally (reconsideration of decision)(Bail Act 1976, s.5B; M.C. Rules 1981, r.93B)

SCHEDULE CONDITIONS TO BE COMPLIED WITH

FORM 153C Order that person granted bail surrender himself into the custody ofthe court on reconsideration of decision (Bail Act 1976, s.5B;M.C. Rules 1981, r.93B)

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules make amendments to the Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981 and the Magistrates' Courts (Forms) Rules 1981 to provide for the procedure to be followed on an application under section 43B of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 for bail following a grant of conditional police bail and on reconsideration under section 5B of the Bail Act 1976 of a decision to grant bail.

(1)

1980 c. 43; section 144 is extended by section 145 of that Act and section 144(3) was amended by paragraph 25(7) of Schedule 18 to the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41).

(2)

1976 c. 63; section 5B was inserted by section 30 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33).

(3)

S.I. 1981/552, the only relevant amending instrument is S.I.1994/1481.

(4)

The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980; section 43B was inserted by paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

(5)

Rule 93A was inserted by rule 3(c) of the Magistrates' Courts (Bail) (Amendment) Rules 1994 (S.I. 1994/1481).

(6)

S.I. 1981/553, to which there are amendments not relevant to this instrument.