(1)Any rule of law or the provisions of any enactment which enable a previous conviction to be libelled as an aggravation of an offence shall cease to have effect.
(2)Where a person is convicted of an offence, any rule of law which precludes the laying and proof before the court of any previous conviction in respect of that person shall cease to have effect, and the court may have regard to any such conviction in deciding on the disposal of the case.
(3)The provisions of any enactment relating to the laying and proof of previous convictions before a court shall apply to a conviction laid before a court in pursuance of this section.
(4)Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall affect the provisions of any enactment relating to the sentence which a court may pass on a second or subsequent conviction.