The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 24 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2010

Made: 29th March 2010

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 336(3) and (4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003[^f00001], and by section 330(4)(b) of that Act, makes the following Order:

Citation and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 24 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2010.

• (2) In this Order—

• “the 1996 Act” means the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996[^f00002]; and

• “the 2003 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Appointed days

2

• (1) The following provisions of the 2003 Act shall come into force on 26th April 2010 so far as they are not already in force—

• (a) section 51 (live links in criminal proceedings);

• (b) section 52 (effect of, and rescission of, direction);

• (c) section 54 (warning to jury); and

• (d) section 56 (interpretation of Part 8 (live links)).

• (2) Section 53 of the 2003 Act (magistrates’ courts permitted to sit at other locations) shall come into force on 26th April 2010.

3

The following provisions of the 2003 Act shall come into force in relation to England and Wales on 1st May 2010—

• (a) section 34 (notification of intention to call defence witnesses); and

• (b) section 39 (faults in defence disclosure), so far as it inserts section 11(4) and (7) of the 1996 Act.

Transitional provisions

4

• (1) The coming into force, by virtue of article 2, of sections 51 to 54 and 56 of the 2003 Act shall have no effect in relation to proceedings beginning before 26th April 2010.

• (2) The coming into force, by virtue of article 3, of sections 34 and 39 of the 2003 Act shall have no effect in relation to a case to which Part 1 of the 1996 Act applies by virtue of section 1(1) or (2) of that Act before 1st May 2010.

• (3) In this article, “proceedings” means the criminal proceedings listed in section 51(2) of the 2003 Act.

Signed

Signed by the authority of the Secretary of State

Claire M Ward — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Ministry of Justice — 29th March 2010

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order brings into force those provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (“the 2003 Act”) set out in articles 2 and 3.

Article 2 brings into force sections 51 to 54 and 56 of the 2003 Act on 26th April 2010 so far as those sections are not already in force. Those sections enable the courts in certain criminal proceedings to direct that a witness, other than the defendant, may give evidence through a live link.

Those sections are already in force in relation to proceedings in the Crown Court for certain sexual offences that began on or after 7th December 2007. This Order brings the sections into force in relation to all other proceedings in the Crown Court and in relation to summary trials, appeals to the Court of Appeal, hearings in the Court of Appeal following a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, hearings in the magistrates’ court following a plea of guilty and retrials for serious offences beginning on or after 26th April 2010.

Article 3 brings into force section 34 of the 2003 Act and section 39 of the 2003 Act so far as it inserts section 11(4) and (7) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act [1996 (c. 25)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/25) (“the 1996 Act”) in relation to England and Wales on 1st May 2010.

Section 34 inserts section 6C (notification of intention to call defence witnesses) into the 1996 Act. This provides that an accused in criminal proceedings must give to the court and the prosecutor a notice indicating whether he or she intends to call any persons (other than himself or herself) as witnesses at his or her trial.

Section 39 substitutes a new section 11 into the 1996 Act. This Order brings into force section 11(4) and (7), providing that the sanctions in section 11 of the 1996 Act apply to failures of disclosure in respect of notices required under section 6C of the 1996 Act. This leaves only subsection (11) of section 11 yet to be commenced.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2003 c. 44.

[^f00002]: 1996 c. 25.