Commencement
816.The following provisions of the Act come into force on Royal Assent:
Sections 47 and 48, which contain the interpretation provisions for Part 1 of the Act and the transitional provisions in Part 1 of Schedule 22;
Section 116 (and associated transitional provision and repeal) which removes the requirement for bills of indictment to be signed;
Section 143 (and associated minor amendment in paragraph 96 of Schedule 21 and repeal) which relates to the implementation of the E-Commerce and Services Directives;
Sections 151 and 152 and Schedule 18 which make provision in respect of criminal legal aid;
Section 154 which makes provision in respect of damages-based agreements in relation to employment matters;
In Part 9, sections 176, 177(3) to (10), 179, 181 to 183; and
Paragraphs 62(3) and 92 to 95 of Schedule 21 (and associated repeals) which contain minor drafting corrections.
817.The following provisions of the Act will come into force two months after Royal Assent:
Section 73 (and the related minor and consequential amendments and repeals in Part 4 of Schedule 21 and Part 2 of Schedule 23) which abolishes the common law offences of sedition, seditious libel, defamatory libel and obscene libel in England and Wales and Northern Ireland;
Section 138 (and associated transitional provision in paragraph 38 of Schedule 22) which adds certain terrorism offences to the list of offences in respect of which a public protection sentence may be passed in England and Wales.
818.Chapter 2 of Part 3, which repeals and re-enacts the provisions of the CEWAA, comes into force on 1 January 2010. (By virtue of section 14 of the CEWAA no new witness anonymity orders may be made under that Act after 31 December 2009.) The associated minor and consequential amendments in paragraphs 67 to 69 of Schedule 21, the associated transitional provisions in paragraphs 17 to 23 of Schedule 22 and associated repeals in Part 3 of Schedule 23 also come into force on 1 January 2010.
819.All other provisions will be brought in force by means of commencement orders.