The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020

Definitions E+W

2.2.—(1) In these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant:

‘advocate’ means a person who is entitled to exercise a right of audience in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007(1);

‘authorised court officer’ has the meaning given by rule 2.4;

‘business day’ means any day except Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday or a bank holiday;

‘court’ means a tribunal with jurisdiction over criminal cases. It includes a judge, recorder, District Judge (Magistrates’ Court), lay justice and, when exercising their judicial powers, the Registrar of Criminal Appeals and an authorised court officer;

‘court officer’ means the appropriate member of the staff of a court;

‘justices’ legal adviser’ means a person authorised under section 28 of the Courts Act 2003(2) to give advice about law to justices of the peace;

‘legal representative’ means:

(i)

the person for the time being named as a party’s representative in any legal aid representation order made under section 16 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012(3), or

(ii)

subject to that, the person named as a party’s representative in any notice for the time being given under rule 46.2 (Notice of appointment, etc. of legal representative: general rules), provided that person is entitled to conduct litigation in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007;

[F1 ‘live link’ means a live audio link or a live video link and:

(i)

‘live audio link’ means a live telephone link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can hear, and be heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person,

(ii)

‘live video link’ means a live television link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can see and hear, and be seen and heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person;

‘live link direction’ means a direction that requires or permits a person to take part through a live audio link or a live video link in the proceedings listed in section 51(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;]

‘Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions, as amended, and ‘Criminal Costs Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Practice Direction (Costs in Criminal Proceedings), as amended;

‘public interest ruling’ means a ruling about whether it is in the public interest to disclose prosecution material under sections 3(6), 7A(8) or 8(5) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996(4); and

‘Registrar’ means the Registrar of Criminal Appeals or a court officer exercising a function of the Registrar.

(2) [F2 Special definitions and definitions] of some other expressions are in the rules in which they apply.

[Note. The glossary at the end of the Rules is a guide to the meaning of certain legal expressions used in them.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in rule 2.2(1) substituted (15.8.2022) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(c)(i)

F2 Words in rule 2.2(2) substituted (15.8.2022) by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/815), rules 2(a), 4(c)(ii)

Commencement Information

I1 Rule 2.2 in force at 5.10.2020, see Preamble

(1)

2007 c. 29.

(2)

2003 c. 39; section 28 is substituted by section 3 of, and paragraph 26 of the Schedule to, the Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018 (c. 33).

(3)

2012 c. 10.

(4)

1996 c. 25; section 7A was inserted by section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44).