Imprisonment for fine defaulters etc.E+W
69 Maximum periods of imprisonment for defaulting on fines etc.E+W
(1)In section 31 of the M1Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973—
(a)the following subsections shall be substituted for subsections (2) to (4)—
“(2)Subject to the provisions of this section, if the Crown Court imposes a fine on any person or forfeits his recognizance, the court shall make an order fixing a term of imprisonment or of detention under section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (detention of persons aged 17 to 20 for default) which he is to undergo if any sum which he is liable to pay is not duly paid or recovered.
(3)No person shall on the occasion when a fine is imposed on him or his recognizance is forfeited by the Crown Court be committed to prison or detained in pursuance of an order under subsection (2) above unless—
(a)in the case of an offence punishable with imprisonment, he appears to the court to have sufficient means to pay the sum forthwith;
(b)it appears to the court that he is unlikely to remain long enough at a place of abode in the United Kingdom to enable payment of the sum to be enforced by other methods; or
(c)on the ocasion when the order is made the court sentences him to immediate imprisonment, custody for life, youth custody or detention in a detention centre for that or another offence, or sentences him as aforesaid for an offence in addition to forfeiting his recognizance, or he is already serving a sentence of custody for life or a term—
(i)of imprisonment;
(ii)of youth custody;
(iii)of detention in a detention centre; or
(iv)of detention under section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982.
(3A)Subject to subsections (3B) and (3C) below, the periods set out in the second column of the following Table shall be the maximum periods of imprisonment or detention under subsection (2) above applicable respectively to the amounts set out opposite thereto.
Table
| An amount not exceeding £25 | 7 days |
| An amount exceeding £25 but not exceeding £50 | 14 days |
| An amount exceeding £50 but not exceeding £200 | 30 days |
| An amount exceeding £200 but not exceeding £500 | 60 days |
| An amount exceeding £500 but not exceeding £1,000 | 90 days |
| An amount exceeding £1,000 but not exceeding £2,500 | 6 months |
| An amount exceeding £2,500 but not exceeding £5,000 | 9 months |
| An amount exceeding £5,000 | 12 months |
(3B)Where the amount due at the time imprisonment or detention is imposed is so much of a fine or forfeited recognizance as remains due after part payment, then, subject to subsection (3C) below, the maximum period applicable to the amount shall be the period applicable to the whole sum reduced by such number of days as bears to the total number of days therein the same proportion as the part paid bears to the total sum.
(3C)In calculating the reduction required under subsection (3B) above any fraction of a day shall be left out of account and the maximum period shall not be reduced to less than five days.
(4)Where any person liable for the payment of a fine or a sum due under a recognizance to which this section applies is sentenced by the court to, or is serving or otherwise liable to serve, a term of imprisonment or youth custody or a term of detention under section 4 or 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, the court may order that any term of imprisonment or detention fixed under subsection (2) above shall not begin to run until after the end of the first-mentioned term.”; and
(b)the following subsections shall be substituted for subsections (7) and (8)—
“(7)Any term fixed under subsection (2) above as respects a fine imposed in pursuance of such an enactment, that is to say a fine which the magistrates’ court could have imposed, shall not exceed the period applicable to that fine (if imposed by the magistrates’ court) under section 149(1) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
(8)This section shall not apply to a fine imposed by the Crown Court on appeal against a decision of a magistrates’ court, but subsections (2) to (3C) above shall apply in relation to a fine imposed or recognizance forfeited by the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, or by the House of Lords on appeal from that division, as they apply in relation to a fine imposed or recognizance forfeited by the Crown Court, and the references to the Crown Court in subsections (2) and (3) above shall be construed accordingly.”.
(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1
Textual Amendments
F1S. 69(2) repealed by Armed Forces Act 1986 (c. 21, SIF 7:1), s. 16(2), Sch. 2
Marginal Citations