Criminal Justice Act 1982

55 Mode of trial of, and penalties for, ceRtain offences. S

(1) In Part III of the M1 Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, before section 458 there shall be inserted the following new section—

“457A Mode of trial of certain offences.

(1) An offence created by statute shall be triable only summarily if—

(a) the enactment creating the offence or any other enactment expressly so provides (in whatever words); or

(b) subject to subsection (2) and (3)(a) below, the offence was created by an Act passed on or before 29th July 1977 (the date of passing of the Criminal Law Act 1977) and the penalty or maximum penalty in force immediately before that date, on any conviction of that offence, did not include any of the following—

(i) a fine exceeding £400;

(ii) imprisonment for a period exceeding 3 months;

(iii) a fine exceeding £50 in respect of a specified quantity or number of things, or in respect of a specified period during which a continuing offence is committed:

Provided that, in the application of paragraph (b)(ii) above, no regard shall be paid to the fact that section 290 of this Act permits the imposition of imprisonment for a period exceeding 3 months in certain circumstances.

(2) An offence created by statute which is triable only on indictment shall continue only to be so triable.

(3) An offence created by statute shall be triable either on indictment or summarily if—

(a) the enactment creating the offence or any other enactment expressly so provides (in whatever words); or

(b) it is an offence to which neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) above applies.

(4) An offence which may under any enactment (including an enactment in this Act or passed after the Act) be tried only summarily, being an offence which, if it had been triable on indictment, could competently have been libelled as an additional or alternative charge in the indictment, may (the provisions of this or any other enactment notwithstanding) be so libelled, and tried accordingly:

Provided that the penalty which may be imposed for that offence in that case shall not exceed that which is competent on summary conviction.”.

(2) For section 289B of the said Act of 1975 there shall be substituted the following section—

“289B Penalties on summary conviction for offences triable either summarily or on indictment.

(1) Where an offence created by a relevant enactment may be tried either on indictment or summarily, the penalty or maximum penalty on summary conviction shall, to the extent that it included, immediately before the commencement of section 55 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, a penalty or maximum penalty mentioned in column 1 of the Table below, be amended so as to substitute as a maximum penalty the corresponding penalty set forth in column 2 thereof (unless provision is expressly made by any enactment for a larger penalty or maximum penalty on summary conviction)—

Column1Penalty or maximum penalty at commencement of section55 of Criminal Justice Act1982	Column2New maximum penalty
1. Fine (other than a fine specified in paragraph 3 below, or a fine in respect of each period of a specified length during which a continuing offence is committed).	1. Fine not exceeding the prescribed sum.
2. Imprisonment for a period exceeding 3 months.	2. Imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 months.
3. Fine in respect of a specified quantity or number of things.	3. Fine not exceeding the prescribed sum in respect of each such quantity or number.
4. Fine exceeding £100 in respect of each period of a specified length during which a continuing offence is committed.	4. Fine not exceeding £100 in respect of each period.

(2) Where, by virtue of a relevant enactment, a person summarily convicted of any offence to which subsection (1) above relates would, apart from this section, be liable to a fine or a maximum fine of one amount in the case of a first conviction and of a different amount in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, subsection (1) above shall apply irrespective of whether the conviction is a first, second or subsequent one.

(3) Where, as regards any offence to which subsection (1) above relates, there is under any enactment (in whatever words) a power by subordinate instrument to restrict the amount of the fine or maximum fine which on summary conviction can be imposed in respect of that offence—

(a) subsection (1) above shall not affect that power or override any restriction imposed in exercise of that power; and

(b) the amount to which that fine or maximum fine may be restricted in exercise of that power shall be any amount less than the fine or maximum fine which could be imposed on summary conviction in respect of the offence apart from any restriction so imposed.

(4) Where there is under a relevant enactment (in whatever words) a power by subordinate instrument to create a criminal offence, the maximum fine which may in the exercise of that power be authorised on summary conviction in respect of such an offence, when that offence may be tried either on indictment or summarily, shall by virtue of this subsection be the prescribed sum unless some larger maximum fine can be authorised on summary conviction in respect of such an offence by virtue of an enactment other than this subsection.

(5) Subsection (1) above is without prejudice to section 290 of this Act (6 months’ imprisonment competent for certain offences).

(6) In this section—

• “the prescribed sum” means £1,000 or such sum as is for the time being substituted in this definition by an order in force under section 289D(1) of this Act;

• “relevant enactment” means an enactment contained in the Criminal Law Act 1977 or in any Act (including this Act) passed before, or in the same session as, that Act.

(7) Subsection (4) above shall not affect so much of any enactment as (in whatever words) provides for a person to be made liable, on summary conviction, to a fine or a maximum fine for each period of a specified length during which a continuing offence is committed.

(8) Where an enactment to which subsection (4) above applies provides for a person to be made liable to a penalty or maximum penalty on summary conviction of an offence triable either on indictment or summarily which includes a fine or a maximum fine in respect of a specified quantity or a specified number of things, that subsection shall apply to that fine or maximum fine.

(9) Schedule 7B to this Act shall have effect for the purpose of altering the penalties or maximum penalties available on summary conviction of the offences therein mentioned; and subsection (1) above shall not apply on summary conviction of any of the offences mentioned in paragraph 1(2) of the said Schedule 7B.”.

(3) Section 289C of the said Act of 1975 (increase of fines for certain summary offences) shall be amended as follows—

(a) for subsection (4) there shall be substituted the following subsection—

“(4) This subsection applies to any pre-1949 enactment (however framed or worded) which—

(a) as regards any summary offence makes a person liable on conviction thereof to a fine of, or not exceeding, a specified amount less than £50 which has not been altered since the end of 1948 (and is not altered by the Act); or

(b) confers power by subordinate instrument to make a person as regards any summary offence (whether or not created by the instrument), liable on conviction thereof to a fine of, or a maximum fine of, less than £50 which has not been altered since the end of 1948 (and is not altered by this Act):

Provided that this subsection does not apply to any offence to which section 457A(1)(b) of this Act applies (offences triable only summarily other than by virtue of express provision).”;

(b) for subsection (7) there shall be substituted the following subsections—

“(7) Subsection (4) above does not apply to so much of any enactment as (in whatever words) makes a person liable or provides for a person to be made liable, on summary conviction, to a fine or a maximum fine for each period of a specified length during which a continuing offence is committed.

(7A) Where an enactment to which subsection 5(4) above applies provides or confers a power to provide for, on conviction of an offence triable only summarily, a fine or a maximum fine in respect of a specified quantity or a specified number of things, “the specified amount” for the purposes of subsection (5) above is the fine or maximum fine so provided or for which provision may be made.”.

(4) In section 289D of the said Act of 1975 (power to alter sums specified in certain provisions), after the word “the" at the beginning of each of paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) there shall be inserted the words “fine or".

(5) Subsections (2) to (4) above do not apply in relation to any offence committed before they come into force.

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. IV (ss. 53-56) repealed (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 40, ss. 6, 7(2), Sch.5 (with Sch. 3 paras. 1, 3, 6, 16, 17)