Prospective
Direct committal for trial: offences related to specified offencesN.I.
Direct committal: offences related to specified offencesN.I.
12—(1) Where—
(a)this Chapter applies in relation to an accused (“A”) who—
(i)is charged with an offence (“offence A”) which is not a specified offence, and
(ii)is not also charged with a specified offence,
(b)A appears or is brought before the court on the same occasion as another person (“B”) charged with a specified offence,
(c)the court commits B for trial for the specified offence under section 11, and
(d)offence A appears to the court to be related to the specified offence for which the court commits B for trial,
the court shall forthwith commit A to the Crown Court for trial for offence A.
(2) Where—
(a)this Chapter applies in relation to an accused (“A”) who—
(i)is charged with an offence (“offence A”) which is not a specified offence, and
(ii)is not also charged with a specified offence,
(b)on a previous occasion another person (“B”) has appeared or been brought before the court charged with a specified offence,
(c)the court has on that occasion committed B for trial for the specified offence under section 11, and
(d)offence A appears to the court to be related to the specified offence for which the court committed B for trial,
the court may forthwith commit A to the Crown Court for trial for offence A if the court considers that it is necessary or appropriate in the interests of justice to do so.
(3) Where the court commits the accused for trial for an offence under this section—
(a)it shall accordingly not conduct committal proceedings in relation to that offence; and
(b)the functions of the court then cease in relation to that offence, except as provided by—
(i)section 13; or
(ii)Article 29(2)(a) of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 or any regulations under Article 26(3) of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.
(4) For the purposes of this section an offence is related to a specified offence if a count charging the offence could be included in the same indictment as a count charging the specified offence.