Criminal Justice Act 1972

Part I — Powers for Dealing With Offenders

Compensation orders

Compensation orders against convicted persons

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence, in addition to dealing with him in any other way, may, on application or otherwise, make an order (in this Act referred to as " a compensation order ") requiring him to pay compensation for any personal injury, loss or damage resulting from that offence or any other offence which is taken into consideration by the court in determining sentence.

• (2) In the case of an offence under the Theft Act 1968, where the property in question is recovered, any damage to the property occurring while it was out of the owner's possession shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) above as having resulted from the offence, however and by whomsoever the damage was caused.

• (3) No compensation order shall be made in respect of loss suffered by the dependants of a person in consequence of his death, and no such order shall be made in respect of injury, loss or damage due to an accident arising out of the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, except such damage as is treated by subsection (2) above as resulting from an offence under the Theft Act 1968.

• (4) In determining whether to make a compensation order against any person, and in determining the amount to be paid by any person under such an order, the court shall have regard to his means so far as they appear or are known to the court.

• (5) The compensation to be paid under a compensation order made by a magistrates' court in respect of any offence of which the court has convicted the offender shall not exceed £400; and the compensation or total compensation to be paid under a compensation order or compensation orders made by a magistrates' court in respect of any offence or offences taken into consideration in determining sentence shall not exceed the difference (if any) between the amount or total amount which under the foregoing provisions of this subsection is the maximum for the offence or offences of which the offender has been convicted and the amount or total amounts (if any) which are in fact ordered to be paid in respect of that offence or those offences.

• (6) Section 4 of the Forfeiture Act 1870, section 4 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911, section 11(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948, section 34 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 and section 8 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 shall cease to have effect.

Appeals in the case of compensation orders

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• (1) A compensation order made on conviction on indictment shall be treated for the purposes of sections 30 and 42(1) and (2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (effect of appeals on orders for the restitution of property) as an order for the restitution of property ; and where by reason of the quashing by the Court of Appeal of a person's conviction any such order does not take effect, and on an appeal to the House of Lords the conviction is restored by that House, the House may make any compensation order which could be made on his conviction by the court which convicted him.

• (2) A compensation order made by a magistrates' court shall be suspended—

• (a) in any case until the expiration of the period for the time being prescribed by law for the giving of notice of appeal against a decision of a magistrates' court;

• (b) where notice of appeal is given within the period so prescribed, until the determination of the appeal.

• (3) Where a compensation order has been made against any person in respect of an offence taken into consideration in determining his sentence—

• (a) the order shall cease to have effect if he successfully appeals against his conviction of the offence or, if more than one, all the offences, of which he was convicted in the proceedings in which the order was made;

• (b) he may appeal against the order as if it were part of the sentence imposed in respect of the offence or, if more than one, any of the offences, of which he was so convicted.

Review of compensation orders

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At any time before a compensation order has been complied with or fully complied with, the magistrates' court for the time being having functions in relation to the enforcement of the order may, on the application of the person against whom it was made, discharge the order, or reduce the amount which remains to be paid, if it appears to the court—

• (a) that the injury, loss or damage in respect of which the order was made has been held in civil proceedings to be less than it was taken to be for the purposes of the order; or

• (b) in the case of an order in respect of the loss of any property, that the property has been recovered by the person in whose favour the order was made.

Effect of compensation order on subsequent award of damages in civil proceedings

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• (1) This section shall have effect where a compensation order has been made in favour of any person in respect of any injury, loss or damage and a claim by him in civil proceedings for damages in respect thereof subsequently falls to be determined.

• (2) The damages in the civil proceedings shall be assessed without regard to the order ; but where the whole or part of the amount awarded by the order has been paid, the damages awarded in the civil proceedings shall not exceed the amount (if any) by which, as so assessed, they exceed the amount paid under the order.

• (3) Where there is an amount unpaid under the compensation order (whether the whole or part of the amount awarded) and the court awards damages in the civil proceedings, then, unless the person against whom the order was made has ceased to be liable to pay the amount unpaid (whether in consequence of an appeal, of his imprisonment for default or otherwise), the court shall direct that the judgment—

• (a) if it is for an amount not exceeding the amount unpaid under the order, shall not be enforced ; or

• (b) if it is for an amount exceeding the amount unpaid under the order, shall not be enforced as to a corresponding amount,

without the leave of the court.

Priority for sums awarded by compensation orders

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For the purposes of section 114 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 (which sets out the manner in which the clerk to a magistrates' court is to apply moneys received by him on account of a sum adjudged to be paid by a summary conviction) the payment of compensation so adjudged to be paid to any person shall, instead of taking second place to the payment of any costs so adjudged to be paid to the prosecutor, take precedence over the payment of such costs.

Restitution orders

Restitution orders

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Criminal bankruptcy

Criminal bankruptcy orders against convicted persons

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• (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence before the Crown Court and it appears to the court that—

• (a) as a result of the offence, or of that offence taken together with any other relevant offence or offences, loss or damage (not attributable to personal injury) has been suffered by one or more persons whose identity is known to the court; and

• (b) the amount, or aggregate amount, of the loss or damage exceeds £15,000,

the court may, in addition to dealing with the offender in any other way (but not if it makes a compensation order against him), make a criminal bankruptcy order against him in respect of the offence or, as the case may be, that offence and the other relevant offence or offences.

• (2) In subsection (1) of this section "other relevant offence or offences " means an offence or offences of which the person in question is convicted in the same proceedings or which the court takes into consideration in determining his sentence.

• (3) A criminal bankruptcy order shall specify—

• (a) the amount of the loss or damage appearing to the court to have resulted from the offence or, if more than one, each of the offences;

• (b) the person or persons appearing to the court to have suffered that loss or damage ;

• (c) the amount of that loss or damage which it appears to the court that that person, or each of those persons, has suffered; and

• (d) the date which is to be the operative date for the purposes of section 10 below, being the date appearing to the court making the order to be the earliest date on which the offence or, if more than one, the earliest of the offences, was committed.

• (4) A criminal bankruptcy order may be made against two or more offenders in respect of the same loss or damage.

• (5) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to criminal bankruptcy orders and the operation of the enactments relating to bankruptcy in a case where such an order has been made.

• (6) The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument direct that subsection (1) of this section shall be amended by substituting, for the amount specified in that subsection as originally enacted or as previously amended under this subsection, such amount as may be specified in the order; and any order under this subsection may be revoked by a subsequent order and shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (7) In this Act " criminal bankruptcy proceedings" means proceedings pursuant to a criminal bankruptcy petition or a petition under section 130 of the Bankruptcy Act 1914 presented by virtue of Schedule 1 to this Act.

Appeals in the case of criminal bankruptcy orders

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• (1) No appeal shall lie against the making of a criminal bankruptcy order.

• (2) Where a person successfully appeals to the Court of Appeal against his conviction of an offence by virtue of which such an order was made, the Court of Appeal—

• (a) shall rescind the order unless—

• (i) he was convicted in the same proceedings of another offence of which he remains convicted; and

• (ii) a criminal bankruptcy order could have been made without reference to loss or damage caused by the offence in respect of which the conviction is quashed;

• (b) where by virtue of paragraph (a) above the court does not rescind the order, shall amend it by striking out so much of it as relates to loss or damage caused by the offence in respect of which the conviction is quashed.

• (3) Where on an appeal by a person against his conviction of an offence by virtue of which a criminal bankruptcy order was made the Court of Appeal substitutes a verdict of guilty of another offence, the court shall—

• (a) rescind the order if a criminal bankruptcy order could not have been made against that person if he had originally been convicted of that other offence ;

• (b) in any other case, amend the order so far as may be required in consequence of the substitution of a verdict of guilty of the other offence.

• (4) Where the Court of Appeal rescinds or amends a criminal bankruptcy order, the rescission or amendment shall not take effect—

• (a) in any case until the expiration of the time for applying for leave to appeal to the House of Lords against the Court of Appeal's decision on the appeal against conviction (disregarding any extension of time which may be granted under section 34 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968);

• (b) if an application for leave to appeal is made within that time, so long as an appeal to the House of Lords is pending; and

• (c) if on such an appeal the conviction is restored by that House.

• (5) For the purposes of this section an appeal to the House of Lords shall be treated as pending until any application for leave to appeal is disposed of and, if leave to appeal is granted, until the appeal is disposed of; and for the purposes of this subsection an application for leave to appeal shall be treated as disposed of at the expiration of the time within which it may be made if it is not made within that time.

The Official Petitioner

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• (1) For the purpose of discharging the functions mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, in relation to cases in which a criminal bankruptcy order is made, there shall be an officer known as the Official Petitioner; and the Director of Public Prosecutions shall, by virtue of his office, be the Official Petitioner.

• (2) The functions of the Official Petitioner shall be—

• (a) to consider whether, in any such case as aforesaid, it is in the public interest that he should himself present a bankruptcy petition;

• (b) to present a bankruptcy petition in any such case in which he determines that it is in the public interest that he should do so;

• (c) to make payments, in such cases as he may determine, towards expenses incurred by other persons in connection with bankruptcy proceedings instituted by virtue of the making of a criminal bankruptcy order ;

• (d) to exercise, so far as he considers it to be in the public interest to do so, any of the powers conferred on him by Schedule 1 to this Act.

• (3) Neither the Official Petitioner nor any person acting under his authority shall be liable to any action or proceeding in respect of anything done or omitted in the discharge, or purported discharge, of the functions of the Official Petitioner under or by virtue of this Act.

• (4) Any expenses of the Official Petitioner shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

Recovery of assets for benefit of criminal bankrupt's creditors

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• (1) Where a person is adjudged bankrupt in criminal bankruptcy proceedings, the official receiver (and not a person appointed under section 19 of the Bankruptcy Act 1914) shall in the bankruptcy be trustee of the property of the bankrupt; and the following provisions of this section shall apply with respect to dispositions of property or any interest in property, made by the bankrupt, on or after the operative date, either by way of gift or for an wider-value.

• (2) On the application of the official receiver (in his capacity as trustee) the High Court may make orders requiring—

• (a) the disponee under any such disposition; or

• (b) subject to the following subsection, any other person who by virtue of any subsequent disposition acquired (whether or not from the original disponee) the whole or any part of the property or any interest therein,

to transfer the whole or any part of the property, or such interest as the order may specify, to the trustee, or to make such payments to the trustee as the court thinks just with a view to making available to the creditors the full value of the property or interest disposed of by the bankrupt (including any increase in its value since the disposition was made).

• (3) No order shall be made by virtue of subsection (2)(b) above against a person appearing to the court to have given full value for anything taken by him under a relevant disposition or to claim (directly or indirectly) through a person who gave full value.

• (4) An order of the High Court under this section requiring a person to transfer any property or interest may include such consequential directions for giving effect to the order, and be made on such terms (including in particular terms allowing the person to retain or recover consideration given by him for any relevant disposition) as the court thinks just in all the circumstances.

• (5) In this section " disposition " includes any conveyance or assurance of property of any description and " disponee " shall be construed accordingly.

• (6) Nothing in this section is to be taken to prejudice any provision of the Bankruptcy Act 1914.

Sentences of imprisonment

Suspended sentences

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• (1) Subsection (3) of section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 (which in general requires a court which passes a sentence of imprisonment for a term of not more than six months to suspend the sentence) shall cease to have effect.

• (2) In the following provisions of the said Act of 1967, that is to say—

• (a) section 39(1) (which provides that a court which passes a sentence of imprisonment for a term of not more than two years may suspend it for a period of not less than one year or more than three years);

• (b) section 40(1)(c) (which enables a court in certain cases to vary the original period of suspension by substituting a period expiring not later than three years from the date of the variation),

for the words " three years" there shall be substituted the words " two years ".

• (3) An offender shall not be dealt with by means of a sentence of imprisonment suspended under section 39 of the said Act of 1967 unless the case appears to the court to be one in which a sentence of imprisonment would have been appropriate in the absence of any power to suspend such a sentence.

Suspended sentence supervision orders

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• (1) Where a court sentences an offender for a single offence to imprisonment for a term of more than six months and makes an order suspending the sentence under section 39(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, the court may make a suspended sentence supervision order (in this Act referred to as " a supervision order ") placing the offender under the supervision of a supervising officer for a period specified in the order not exceeding the period which under the said section 39(1) is the operational period in relation to the suspended sentence.

• (2) The Secretary of State may by order—

• (a) direct that subsection (1) above be amended by substituting, for the number of months specified in the subsection as originally enacted or as previously amended under this paragraph, such other number (not more than six) as the order may specify; or

• (b) make in that subsection the repeals necessary to enable a court to exercise the powers of the subsection in the case of any suspended sentence, whatever the length of the term.

Orders under this subsection shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment by resolution of either House of Parliament; and an order under paragraph (a) may be revoked by a subsequent order under paragraph (a) or (b).

• (3) A supervision order shall specify the petty sessions area in which the offender resides or will reside; and the supervising officer shall be a probation officer appointed for or assigned to that area.

• (4) An offender in respect of whom a supervision order is in force shall keep in touch with the supervising officer in accordance with such instructions as he may from time to time be given by that officer and shall notify him of any change of address.