The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Defence Disclosure Time Limits) Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which extend to Northern Ireland only, prescribe the relevant periods for sections 5 and 6 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”) (which relate respectively to compulsory and voluntary disclosure by the accused in criminal proceedings).

Regulation 2 prescribes the day when the prosecutor complies with section 3 of the 1996 Act (primary disclosure by prosecutor) as the beginning, and the expiration of 21 days after that day as the end, of the relevant period for compulsory disclosure by the accused under section 5 of the 1996 Act.

Regulation 3 prescribes the day when the prosecutor complies with section 3 of the 1996 Act (primary disclosure by prosecutor) as the beginning, and the expiration of 14 days after that day as the end, of the relevant period for voluntary disclosure by the accused under section 6 of the 1996 Act.

Regulation 4 provides for the extension of those periods by the court, on application by the accused, if the court is satisfied that the accused could not reasonably have acted within the periods prescribed by regulations 2 and 3. There is no limit on the number of days by which the periods may be extended.

Regulation 5 provides for further extensions of those periods subject to similar conditions.

Regulation 6 provides for periods which end on specified days such as bank holidays and weekends to be extended so as to expire on the next day which is not one of those specified days.

No period is prescribed in these Regulations for section 3 or 7 of the 1996 Act (which relate to prosecution disclosure); the relevant periods for those sections are therefore governed by section 13 of the 1996 Act (transitional provisions).