The legislative framework The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 41, Sch 3 (CJA 2003) significantly amended the procedure to be followed by a magistrates' court in deciding...
Procedure for either-way offences not sent forthwith to the Crown Court for trial: plea before venue and allocation Where the court decides that a case...
The Code for Crown Prosecutors states that when making a decision to prosecute, consideration should be given to alternatives to prosecution. The two main alternatives to...
Any informal request or formal application for the return of property seized by an investigating authority during a criminal investigation will depend on the authority...
There are two kinds of burden: • the legal burden, and • the evidential burden The legal burden A party has the legal (sometimes called ‘the persuasive’) burden where the...
The overriding objective Pursuant to the overriding objective, courts are required to actively manage cases in order to ensure that they are dealt with justly in an...
The Crown Prosecution Service is the public prosecutor in the UK. It is led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who reports to the Attorney General...
Civil recovery of property, which represents criminal property derived from unlawful conduct Civil recovery is the name given to the powers under Part 5 of the Proceeds...
Civil recovery—enforcement abroad prior to the Crime and Courts Act 2013 Before the commencement of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, Schedule 18, Part 2 (CCA 2013) on the...
All criminal cases begin in the magistrates' court however serious the offence. There are a number of ways of commencing criminal proceedings in England and Wales: • the...
All criminal cases begin in the magistrates' court regardless of the seriousness of the offence. There are, however, a number of ways of commencing criminal proceedings...
Involvement of prosecutors in conditional cautions Conditional cautions were implemented by sections 22–27 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). They were intended...
Guidelines which apply when considering a charge The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) undertook to produce the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Guidelines...
In both the magistrates’ court and the Crown Court, proceeding with a trial in the absence of the defendant is a last resort and is one which the courts will try to avoid...
What is a deferred prosecution agreement? A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) is an agreement between an organisation and a designated prosecutor to enable the latter...
Initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC) The service and contents of the initial details of the prosecution case (IDPC) is governed by the Criminal...