Criminal Justice Act 2003

Part 4 Charging etc

28 Charging or release of persons in police detention

Schedule 2 (which makes provision in relation to the charging or release of persons in police detention) shall have effect.

29 New method of instituting proceedings

(1) A public prosecutor may institute criminal proceedings against a person by issuing a document (a “written charge”) which charges the person with an offence.

(2) Where a public prosecutor issues a written charge, it must at the same time issue a document (a “requisition”) which requires the person to appear before a magistrates' court to answer the written charge.

(3) The written charge and requisition must be served on the person concerned, and a copy of both must be served on the court named in the requisition.

(4) In consequence of subsections (1) to (3), a public prosecutor is not to have the power to lay an information for the purpose of obtaining the issue of a summons under section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43).

(5) In this section “public prosecutor” means—

(a) a police force or a person authorised by a police force to institute criminal proceedings,

(b) the Director of the Serious Fraud Office or a person authorised by him to institute criminal proceedings,

(c) the Director of Public Prosecutions or a person authorised by him to institute criminal proceedings,

(d) the Attorney General or a person authorised by him to institute criminal proceedings,

(e) a Secretary of State or a person authorised by a Secretary of State to institute criminal proceedings,

(f) the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or a person authorised by them to institute criminal proceedings,

(g) the Commissioners of Customs and Excise or a person authorised by them to institute criminal proceedings, or

(h) a person specified in an order made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section or a person authorised by such a person to institute criminal proceedings.

(6) In subsection (5) “police force” has the meaning given by section 3(3) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23).

30 Further provision about new method

(1) Rules under section 144 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 may make—

(a) provision as to the form, content, recording, authentication and service of written charges or requisitions, and

(b) such other provision in relation to written charges or requisitions as appears to the Lord Chancellor to be necessary or expedient.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the provision which may be made by virtue of that subsection includes provision—

(a) which applies (with or without modifications), or which disapplies, the provision of any enactment relating to the service of documents,

(b) for or in connection with the issue of further requisitions.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) is to be taken as affecting the generality of section 144(1) of that Act.

(4) Nothing in section 29 affects—

(a) the power of a public prosecutor to lay an information for the purpose of obtaining the issue of a warrant under section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43),

(b) the power of a person who is not a public prosecutor to lay an information for the purpose of obtaining the issue of a summons or warrant under section 1 of that Act, or

(c) any power to charge a person with an offence whilst he is in custody.

(5) Except where the context otherwise requires, in any enactment contained in an Act passed before this Act—

(a) any reference (however expressed) which is or includes a reference to an information within the meaning of section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) (or to the laying of such an information) is to be read as including a reference to a written charge (or to the issue of a written charge),

(b) any reference (however expressed) which is or includes a reference to a summons under section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (or to a justice of the peace issuing such a summons) is to be read as including a reference to a requisition (or to a public prosecutor issuing a requisition).

(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

(7) The reference in subsection (5) to an enactment contained in an Act passed before this Act includes a reference to an enactment contained in that Act as a result of an amendment to that Act made by this Act or by any other Act passed in the same Session as this Act.

(8) In this section “public prosecutor”, “requisition” and “written charge” have the same meaning as in section 29.

31 Removal of requirement to substantiate information on oath

(1) In section 1(3) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (warrant may not be issued unless information substantiated on oath) the words “and substantiated on oath” are omitted.

(2) In section 13 of that Act (non-appearance of defendant: issue of warrant) in subsection (3)(a) the words “the information has been substantiated on oath and” are omitted.

(3) For subsection (3A)(a) of that section there is substituted—

“(a) the offence to which the warrant relates is punishable, in the case of a person who has attained the age of 18, with imprisonment, or”.