Criminal Justice Act 1961

PART IV Supplemental

34 Removals from prison consequential on Part I

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Prison Commissioners may, if satisfied that it is expedient to do so, remove from a prison to a borstal institution or a detention centre any person who, at or after the commencement of subsection (2) of section two or subsection (1) of section three of this Act, or of an Order in Council under subsection (5) of the said section three, is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a prison in England and Wales, being a sentence which, by virtue of that enactment or of that Order, as the case may be, could not then be passed in his case by a court in England and Wales.

(2) A person shall not be removed under this section to a borstal institution unless his sentence of imprisonment was a sentence for a term exceeding six months, and shall not be removed thereunder to a detention centre if the unexpired period of the term of his sentence exceeds nine months.

(3) Where a person is removed under this section to a borstal institution, he shall thereafter be treated as if his sentence had been a sentence of borstal training except that—

(a) his liability to be detained under section forty-five of the Prison Act, 1952, in a borstal institution shall continue until the expiration of his term of imprisonment, and shall then determine ;

(b) subsections (3) to (5) of section forty-five of the Prison Act, 1952, shall not apply to him on his release, but the Prison Commissioners may release him on licence at any time before the expiration of the said term, and in that case subsections (3) to (6) of section twenty-five of that Act (which relate to persons released from prison on licence under that section), shall apply as if for references to a prison there were substituted references to a prison or a borstal institution.

(4) Where a person is removed under this section to a detention centre, he shall thereafter be treated as if his sentence had been an order for his detention in a detention centre for a term equal to his term of imprisonment.

(5) Notwithstanding anything in this section, a person transferred thereunder shall, while detained in a borstal institution or detention centre, be treated for the purposes of section three of this Act as if he were serving his sentence of imprisonment.

(6) Where an order has been made under Part III of this Act for the removal to a prison in England and Wales of a person who, under this section, could be removed from that prison to a borstal institution or detention centre, the Prison Commissioners may direct that he shall, on his arrival in England and Wales, be taken to a borstal institution or a detention centre instead of that prison.

35 Legal custody

(1) Any person required or authorised by or under this Act to be taken to any place or to be kept in custody shall, while being so taken or kept, be deemed to be in legal custody.

(2) A constable, or any other person required or authorised by or under this Act to take any person to or keep him at any place shall, while taking or keeping him there have all the powers, authorities, protection and privileges which a constable has within the area for which he acts as constable.

36 General provisions as to orders

(1) Any power of the Secretary of State to make orders under this Act (other than orders under subsection (1) of section nineteen or under Part III) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

(2) Any Order in Council or order under this Act may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council or order.

37 Prison Commissioners' reports

In any case where a court is required by this Act to consider a report made by or on behalf of the Prison Commissioners in respect of an offender, the court shall cause a copy of the report to be given to the offender or his counsel or solicitor.

38 Construction of references to sentences of imprisonment, etc.

(1) Except as provided by subsection (3) of this section, the expression " sentence " in this Act does not include a committal for default or the fixing of a term to be served in the event of default, or a committal or attachment for contempt of court.

(2) For the purposes of any provisions of this Act referring to a person who is serving or has served a sentence of any description, the expression " sentence " includes—

(a) in any case, a sentence of that description passed by a court in Scotland, Northern Ireland, any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man ; and

(b) in the case of imprisonment, a sentence passed by a court-martial on a person found guilty of a civil offence (within the meaning of the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, the Army Act, 1955, or the Air Force Act, 1955), and a sentence which is treated by virtue of the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act, 1884, as a sentence passed by a court in England and Wales.

(3) For the purposes of Part III and of sections twenty-two and thirty-four of this Act—

(a) the expression " imprisonment or detention " means imprisonment, corrective training, preventive detention, borstal training or detention in a detention centre;

(b) the expression " sentence " includes a sentence passed by a court-martial for any offence, and any order made by any court imposing imprisonment or detention, and " sentenced " shall be construed accordingly.

(4) For the purposes of any reference in this Act to a term of imprisonment or of detention in a detention centre or to a term of imprisonment or detention, consecutive terms and terms which are wholly or partly concurrent shall be treated as a single term.

(5) For the purposes of this Act (and of any enactment referred to in Part III of this Act)—

(a) a sentence of penal servitude passed in any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man shall be treated as a sentence of imprisonment for the like term;

(b) a sentence of detention in a borstal institution passed as aforesaid shall be treated as a sentence of borstal training;

(c) a sentence of death passed by any court (including a court-martial) on a person subsequently pardoned by Her Majesty on condition of his serving a term of imprisonment or penal servitude shall be treated as a sentence of imprisonment or penal servitude passed by that court for that term ; and

(d) without prejudice to paragraph (c) of this subsection, any reference to a person on whom a sentence of any description has been passed includes a reference to a person who under the law of any part of the United Kingdom, any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man is treated as a person on whom a sentence of that description has been passed ;

and " sentenced " shall be construed accordingly.

39 Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say:—

• " appropriate institution " means—

  (a)

  in relation to a person sentenced to borstal training who is removed under Part III of this Act to any part of the United Kingdom, a borstal institution ;

  (b)

  in relation to a person sentenced to detention in a detention centre who is so removed to England and Wales or Scotland, a detention centre ;

  (c)

  in relation to any other person who is removed under the said Part III, a prison ;

• " court " includes an appeal committee of quarter sessions;

• " court-martial " includes the Courts-Martial Appeal Court and any officer exercising jurisdiction under section forty-nine of the Naval Discipline Act, 1957 ;

• " default " means failure to pay, or want of sufficient distress to satisfy, any fine or other sum of money, or failure to do or abstain from doing any thing required to be done or left undone ;

• " enactment " includes an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland;

• " prison " does not include a naval, military or air force prison;

• " responsible Minister " means—

  (a)

  in relation to persons detained in England and Wales or in Scotland, a Secretary of State ;

  (b)

  in relation to persons detained in Northern Ireland, the Minister of Home Affairs for Northern Ireland;

• " the statutory restrictions upon the imprisonment of young offenders " means subsection (1) of section seventeen of the Criminal Justice Act, 1948, subsection (2) of section one hundred and seven of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952, and section three of this Act.

(2) Except as otherwise expressly provided, references in this Act to a court do not include references to a court-martial; and nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the punishment which may be awarded by a court-martial under the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, the Army Act, 1955, or the Air Force Act, 1955, for a civil offence within the meaning of those Acts.

(3) Where the age of any person at any time is material for the purposes of any provision of this Act regulating the powers of a court or justice of the peace, his age at the material time shall be deemed to be or to have been that which appears to the court or justice, after considering any available evidence, to be or to have been his age at that time.

(4) Any reference in this Act to any other enactment is a reference thereto as amended, and includes a reference thereto as extended or applied, by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

40 Legislative powers of Parliament of Northern Ireland

Notwithstanding any limitation imposed on the powers of the Parliament of Northern Ireland by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, that Parliament may, by any Act re-enacting (with or without modifications) or amending the law in force in Northern Ireland with respect to the custody and treatment of prisoners and other persons detained, make such amendments of the provisions of this Act, so far as those provisions extend to Northern Ireland, as may be necessary for the purpose of bringing those provisions into conformity with the provisions of that Act.

41 Minor and consequential amendments and repeals

(1) The enactments described in the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in the second column of that Schedule, being minor amendments and amendments consequential on the foregoing provisions of this Act.

(2) The enactments described in the Fifth Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(3) The amendment or repeal by this Act of any enactment described in the said Fourth or Fifth Schedule shall not extend to that enactment in so far as it applies to any person—

(a) by virtue of his having been sentenced to borstal training before the commencement of section eleven of this Act; or

(b) by virtue of his having been released from an approved school before, and not having again been so released after, the commencement of section fourteen of this Act.

(4) In accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section, but subject to subsection (3) thereof and to the repeal provided for by subsection (6) of section eighteen of the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949, the following enactments (which relate to borstal training) that is to say section twenty of the Criminal Justice Act, 1948, section twenty-eight of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952, and section forty-five of the Prison Act, 1952, shall, after the commencement of all such provisions of the Fourth and Fifth Schedules to this Act as relate to those enactments, have effect as set out in the Sixth Schedule to this Act.

42 Application to Scotland and Northern Ireland

(1) The following provisions of this Act shall extend to Scotland, that is to say—

• Part III except section thirty-three;

• section thirty-five;

• sections thirty-eight and thirty-nine;

• section forty-one and the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules, so far as they relate to enactments which extend to Scotland;

but except as aforesaid, and except so far as it relates to the commencement of the said provisions, this Act shall not extend to Scotland.

(2) The following provisions of this Apt shall extend to Northern Ireland, that is to say—

• Part III;

• section thirty-five;

• sections thirty-eight to forty ;

• section forty-one and the Fourth and Sixth Schedules, so far as they relate to enactments which extend to Northern Ireland;

but except as aforesaid, and except so far as it relates to the commencement of the said provisions, this Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

43 Expenses

There shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament any increase attributable to the provisions of this Act in the sums which, under any other enactment, are payable out of moneys so provided.

44 Commencement

(1) The foregoing provisions of this Act (including the Schedules therein referred to) shall come into operation on such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(2) Different dates may be appointed by order under this section for different purposes of this Act; and any reference in this Act to the commencement of any provision of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the date appointed for the purposes of that provision.

45 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act, 1961.