The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement Order No. 23) Order 2009

Made: 26th October 2009

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 336(3) and (4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003[^f00001], makes the following Order:

Citation and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement Order No. 23) Order 2009.

• (2) In this Order “the 2003 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Commencement

2

Section 29(1) to (3), (5) and (6) (new method of instituting proceedings) and section 30 (further provision about the new method) of the 2003 Act come into force on 1 November 2009 for the purposes specified in article 3.

3

The coming into force of those provisions specified in article 2 shall have effect only for the purposes of—

• (a) criminal proceedings instituted by a public prosecutor within the meaning of section 29(5)(a) of the 2003 Act (a police force or a person authorised by a police force to institute proceedings), in a magistrates’ court sitting in one of the following locations:

• (i) Brent Magistrates’ Court;

• (ii) Feltham Magistrates’ Court;

• (iii) Havering Magistrates’ Court; and

• (iv) South Western Magistrates’ Court;

• (b) criminal proceedings instituted by a public prosecutor within the meaning of section 29(5)(e) of the 2003 Act (a Secretary of State or a person authorised by a Secretary of State to institute criminal proceedings) who is authorised for the purposes of section 49 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994[^f00002] (authorised persons) anywhere in England and Wales; and

• (c) criminal proceedings instituted by a public prosecutor within the meaning of section 29(5)(e) of the 2003 Act (a Secretary of State or a person authorised by a Secretary of State to institute criminal proceedings) where they are instituted by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions or the Secretary of State for Health anywhere in England and Wales.

Signed

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State

Bridget Prentice — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Ministry of Justice — 26th October 2009

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order brings into force the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) specified in Article 2, for the purposes of the criminal proceedings specified in Article 3, with effect from 1 November 2009.

The effect of the Order is as follows. First, a police force, or a person authorised by a police force to institute criminal proceedings, may, under section 29 of the 2003 Act, institute criminal proceedings by issuing a written charge and requisition in a magistrates’ court sitting in the locations specified in Article 3(a). This Order extends the list of courts in which this procedure may be used.

Second, a person authorised under section 49 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 to conduct and appear in any proceedings involving the Secretary of State under that Act may institute criminal proceedings by issuing a written charge and requisition anywhere in England and Wales. This procedure is currently only available in Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court.

Third, criminal proceedings instituted by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions or the Secretary of State for Health in England and Wales may be instituted by issuing a written charge and requisition.

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement Order No. 16) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1999) and the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement Order No. 21) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1424) gave effect to the same provisions in the 2003 Act in relation to specified proceedings instituted in other specified magistrates’ courts.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2003 c. 44.

[^f00002]: type=start time=12905921570081994 c. 22.type=end time=1290592157008