The Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981

1. Introductory Text

2. GENERAL

   1. 1. Citation, operation and revocations

   2. 2. Interpretation

   3. 3. Duties of justices’ legal advisers

   4. 3A. —Case management

   5. 3B. Live links

   6. 3C. Measures to help a witness to give evidence

   7. 3D. Forms and electronic arrangements for use in case management and for other purposes

3. INFORMATION AND COMPLAINT

   1. 4. Information and complaint

   2. 4A. Documents served on the designated officer

   3. 4B. Prosecutor’s notice to other party: right to object to written evidence being read at trial without further evidence

4. PROCEEDINGS PRELIMINARY TO TRIAL ON INDICTMENT

   1. 5. Restrictions on reports of committal proceedings

   2. 6. Committal for trial without consideration of evidence

   3. 7. Consideration of evidence at committal proceedings

   4. 8. Court’s reminder to a defendant: right to object to written evidence being read at trial without further proof

   5. 9. Notice to governor of prison of committal on bail

   6. 10. Notices on committal of person subject to transfer direction

   7. 11. Material to be sent to court of trial

   8. 11A. (1) As soon as practicable after any person is sent...

5. SUMMARY TRIAL OF INFORMATION AND HEARING OF COMPLAINT

   1. 12. Information to be for one offence only

   2. 13. Order of evidence and speeches: information

   3. 13A. Procedure on information where accused is not legally represented

   4. 14. Order of evidence and speeches: complaint

   5. 15. Adjournment of trial of information

   6. 16. Record of Adjudication

6. DOMESTIC ABUSE PROTECTION ORDERS

   1. 17. Application for order after giving domestic abuse protection notice

   2. 18. Notice of proposed terms of order

   3. 19. Service of order

   4. 20. Representations after application without notice

   5. 21. Application to vary or discharge order

   6. 22. Notice to responsible person of requirement for supervision or monitoring

   7. 23. Exclusion of requirement for notice of hearsay evidence

7. REMAND

   1. 24. Documents to be sent on remand for medical inquiry

   2. 25. Transfer of remand hearings

   3. 26. Notice of further remand in certain cases

8. DEFERMENT OF SENTENCE

   1. 27. Notification of conviction before expiration of period of deferment

9. CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE ...

   1. 28. Notification in relation to an order for conditional discharge

10. SUSPENDED SENTENCES

    1. 29. Entries in register in respect of suspended sentences

    2. 30. Suspended sentence supervision orders

11. HOSPITAL ORDER

    1. 31. Documents to be sent under Mental Health Act 1959

12. ENDORSEMENT

    1. 32. Endorsement of driving licence

13. DEPOSITION OF PERSON DANGEROUSLY ILL

    1. 33. Deposition of person dangerously ill

14. APPEAL OR APPLICATION TO MAGISTRATES’ COURT

    1. 34. Appeal or application to be by complaint

15. AFFILIATION ORDERS

    1. 35. Time for hearing affiliation summons

    2. 35A. Application for sums under affiliation order to be paid to person having custody of child

16. DOMESTIC PROCEEDINGS

    1. 36. Reasons for decisions in certain domestic proceedings to be recorded

    2. 37. Copies of records to be supplied in connection with appeals

    3. 38. Certification of records

17. ORDERS FOR PERIODICAL PAYMENTS

    1. 39. Method of making periodical payments

    2. 40. Duty of clerk to notify arrears of periodical payments

    3. 41. Revocation, variation, etc., of orders for periodical payments

    4. 42. Application for sums under affiliation order to be paid to person having custody of child

    5. 43. Service of copy of order

    6. 44. Remission of sums due under order

    7. 45. Duty of clerk to notify subsequent marriage or formation of civil partnership of person entitled to payments under a maintenance order

18. SATISFACTION, ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICATION OF PAYMENTS

    1. 46. Notice to defendant of fine or forfeited recognizance

    2. 47. Registration and notification of financial penalty enforcement order

    3. 48. To whom payments are to be made

    4. 49. Duty of clerk to give receipt

    5. 50. Relief of collecting officer

    6. 51. Application for further time

    7. 52. Notice of date of hearing of means inquiry etc.

    8. 52A. Review of terms of postponement of warrant of commitment

    9. 53. Notice to defendant before enforcing order

    10. 54. Execution of distress warrant

    11. 55. Payment after imprisonment imposed

    12. 56. Order for supervision

    13. 57. Transfer of fine order

    14. 57A. Payment of money in bank or building society account in satisfaction of confiscation order

    15. 58. Civil debt: judgment summons

    16. 59. Enforcement of affiliation orders, etc.

    17. 59A. Court to which complaint for the enforcement of a maintenance decision to which Section 1 of Chapter IV of the Maintenance Regulation applies must be made

    18. 59B. Complaint by debtor under Article 21 of the Maintenance Regulation for refusal or suspension of enforcement

    19. 60. Enforcement where periodical payments made under more than one order

    20. 60A. Applications under regulation 7(2)(b) of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020

    21. 61. Notice of adjudication on complaint for enforcement of magistrates' court maintenance order, etc.

    22. 62. Particulars relating to payment of lump sum under magistrates' court maintenance order, etc. to be entered in register

    23. 63. Notice of date of reception in custody and discharge

    24. 64. Direction that money found on defaulter shall not be applied in satisfaction of debt

    25. 65. Particulars of fine enforcement to be entered in register

19. REGISTER

    1. 66. Register in civil proceedings

    2. 66A. The open justice principle

    3. 66B. Request for information about a case

    4. 66C. Request for information by a party or person directly affected by a case

    5. 66D. Request for information determined by the court

    6. 66E. Publication of information about court hearings

20. EVIDENCE—GENERAL

    1. 67. Proof of service

    2. 68. Proof of proceedings

    3. 69. Proof that affiliation, maintenance orders, etc., have not been revoked, etc.

21. EVIDENCE—CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

    1. 70. Evidence in committal proceedings and written statements in summary trial

    2. 71. Proof by formal admission

    3. 72. Proof of previous convictions

    4. 72A. Procedure for the admission of evidence of bad character

    5. 73. Clerk to have copies of documents sent to accused under s.12(1) of the Act of 1980

22. APPEAL TO CROWN COURT

    1. 74. Documents to be sent to Crown Court

    2. 75. Abandonment of appeal

23. CASE STATED

    1. 76. Application to state case

    2. 77. Consideration of draft case

    3. 78. Preparation and submission of final case

    4. 79. Extension of time limits

    5. 80. Service of documents

    6. 81. Content of case

    7. 81A. Duty of justices’ legal adviser

24. RECOGNIZANCES AND BAIL

    1. 82. Recognizance to keep the peace, etc., taken by one court and discharged by another

    2. 83. Application to vary order for sureties or dispense with them

    3. 84. Notice of bail requirement

    4. 84A. Procedure on application for bail following grant of conditional police bail

    5. 85. Sureties for bail

    6. 86. Forfeiture of sureties

    7. 87. Notice to governor of prison, etc. where release from custody is ordered

    8. 88. Release when recognizances have been taken or requirements complied with

    9. 89. Procedure under s. 13 of the Courts Act 1971

    10. 90. Bail records to be entered in register

    11. 90A. Notes of argument in bail hearings

    12. 90B. Records to be kept where warrant is endorsed for bail

    13. 91. Notice of change of time for appearance

    14. 92. Notification of bail decision after arrest while on bail

    15. 93. Variation of arrangements for bail on committal to Crown Court

    16. 93A. Procedure where prosecution appeals against a decision to grant bail

    17. 93B. Procedure on reconsideration of a decision to grant bail

25. WARRANT

    1. 94. Committal to custody to be by warrant

    2. 95. Form of warrants issued by magistrates’ courts

    3. 95A. Warrant issued out of hours

    4. 96. Warrant of arrest

    5. 97. Warrant of commitment

26. SUMMONS

    1. 98. Form of summons

    2. 99. Service of summons

27. FORM IN WHICH OFFENCE MAY BE STATED IN DOCUMENTS

    1. 100. Statement of offence

28. MISCELLANEOUS

    1. 101. Application for, and notice to be given of, order under s. 95 of, or paragraph 7 of Schedule 10 to, Road Traffic Act 1972

    2. 101A. Applications under section 34B(6) or (7) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988

    3. 101B. Direction to a local authority under section 447(2) and (3) of the Education Act 1996

    4. 102. Application for revocation of order under s.14 of Food and Drugs Act 1955

    5. 103. Application for substitution of conditional discharge for probation

    6. 104. Application for review of compensation order

    7. 104A. Statements etc, relevant to making confiscation orders under the Criminal Justice Act 1988

    8. 104B. Postponed determinations under the Criminal Justice Act 1988

    9. 104C. Confiscation orders— revised assessments

    10. 105. Application for alteration of maintenance agreement under s. 35 of Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 or under paragraph 69 of Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 ...

    11. 106. Proceedings against person outside the United Kingdom on application for variation, etc. of certain maintenance ... orders

    12. 107. Application for summons to witness or warrant for his arrest

    13. 108. Notice of order under s.104 of Road Traffic Act 1972

    14. 109. Signature of forms prescribed by rules made under the Act of 1980

    15. 110. Cessation of Transfer Direction

    16. 111. Notice of registration to defaulter under section 36(8) of the Transport Act 1982

    17. 112. Statutory declaration under section 37 of the Transport Act 1982

    18. 113. Composition of committee of magistrates for inner London area

    19. 114. Applications for variation or discharge of orders under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998

    20. 115. Service of orders

29. Signature

30. 1. SCHEDULE

       REVOCATIONS

31. Explanatory Note