Criminal Appeal Act 1995

22 Meaning of “public body” etc

(1) In sections 17, 19 and 20 and this section “public body” means—

(a) any police force,

(b) any government department, local authority or other body constituted for purposes of the public service, local government or the administration of justice, or

(c) any other body whose members are appointed by Her Majesty, any Minister or any government department or whose revenues consist wholly or mainly of money provided by Parliament or appropriated by Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(2) In sections 19 and 20 and this section—

(a) “police force” includes the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve and any body of constables maintained otherwise than by a police authority,

(b) references to the chief officer of police, in relation to the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve, are to the Chief Constable of the Constabulary and, in relation to a police force maintained otherwise than by a police authority, are to the chief constable, and

(c) references to an England and Wales police force are to a police force maintained under section 2 of the [1964 c. 48.] Police Act 1964, the metropolitan police force or the City of London police force.

(3) In section 18 and this section—

(a) references to a government department include a Northern Ireland department and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, and

(b) “Minister” means a Minister of the Crown as defined by section 8 of the Ministers of the [1975 c. 26.] Crown Act 1975 but also includes the head of a Northern Ireland department.

(4) In sections 17, 19 and 20 “the appropriate person” means—

(a) in relation to a police force, the chief officer of police,

(b) in relation to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions,

(c) in relation to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, that Director,

(d) in relation to the Serious Fraud Office, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office,

(e) in relation to the Inland Revenue, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue,

(f) in relation to the Customs and Excise, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise,

(g) in relation to any government department not within any of the preceding paragraphs, the Minister in charge of the department, and

(h) in relation to any public body not within any of the preceding paragraphs, the public body itself (if it is a body corporate) or the person in charge of the public body (if it is not).

(5) For the purposes of sections 17, 19 and 20—

(a) a justices' chief executive or justices' clerk appointed by, or a member of the staff of, a magistrates' courts committee shall be treated as serving in the committee, and

(b) a person authorised under section 57 of the [1991 c. 24.] Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991 to exercise the powers conferred by Schedule 5 to that Act shall be treated as if he were serving in a public body and he were the appropriate person in relation to the body.