Police Act 1997

101 Code of practice

(1) The Secretary of State shall issue a code of practice in connection with the performance of functions under this Part by persons other than Commissioners appointed under section 91.

(2) Before issuing a code of practice under subsection (1), the Secretary of State shall prepare and publish a draft of that code, shall consider any representations made to him about the draft and may modify the draft accordingly.

(3) The Secretary of State shall lay before both Houses of Parliament a draft of the code of practice prepared by him under this section.

(4) The code of practice laid before Parliament in draft under subsection (3) shall not be brought into operation except in accordance with an order made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.

(5) A statutory instrument which contains an order under subsection (4) shall not be made unless a draft has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(6) An order bringing the code into operation may contain such transitional provisions or savings as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient in connection with the bringing into operation of that code.

(7) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise the whole or any part of a code to which this section applies and issue that revised code; and the foregoing provision of this section shall apply (with appropriate modifications) to such a revised code as they apply to the first issue of the code.

(8) Persons, other than Commissioners appointed under section 91, shall have regard to any code of practice issued under this section in the performance of their functions under this Part.

(9) A failure on the part of any person to comply with any provision of a code of practice issued under this section shall not of itself render him liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.

(10) A code issued under this section shall be admissible in evidence in criminal and civil proceedings; and if any provision of such a code appears to the court or tribunal conducting the proceedings to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings it shall be taken into account in determining that question.