Part I The Crown Prosecution Service

Constitution and functions of Service

1 The Crown Prosecution Service.

1

There shall be a prosecuting service for England and Wales (to be known as the “Crown Prosecution Service ”) consisting of—

a

the Director of Public Prosecutions, who shall be head of the Service;

b

the Chief Crown Prosecutors, designated under subsection (4) below, each of whom shall be the member of the Service responsible to the Director for supervising the operation of the Service in his area; and

c

the other staff appointed by the Director under this section.

2

The Director shall appoint such staff for the Service as, with the approval of the Treasury as to numbers, remuneration and other terms and conditions of service, he considers necessary for the discharge of his functions.

3

The Director may designate any member of the Service F1who has a general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990) for the purposes of this subsection, and any person so designated shall be known as a Crown Prosecutor.

4

The Director shall divide England and Wales into areas and, for each of those areas, designate a Crown Prosecutor for the purposes of this subsection and any person so designated shall be known as a Chief Crown Prosecutor.

5

The Director may, from time to time, vary the division of England and Wales made for the purposes of subsection (4) above.

6

Without prejudice to any functions which may have been assigned to him in his capacity as a member of the Service, every Crown Prosecutor shall have all the powers of the Director as to the institution and conduct of proceedings but shall exercise those powers under the direction of the Director.

C17

Where any enactment (whenever passed)—

a

prevents any step from being taken without the consent of the Director or without his consent or the consent of another; or

b

requires any step to be taken by or in relation to the Director;

any consent given by or, as the case may be, taken by or in relation to, a Crown Prosecutor shall be treated, for the purposes of that enactment, as given by or, as the case may be, taken by or in relation to the Director.

2 The Director of Public Prosecutions

1

The Director of Public Prosecutions shall be appointed by the Attorney General.

2

The Director must be a F2person who has a ten year general qualification, within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

3

There shall be paid to the Director such remuneration as the Attorney General may, with the approval of the Treasury, determine.

3 Functions of the Director.

1

The Director shall discharge his functions under this or any other enactment under the superintendence of the Attorney General.

C22

It shall be the duty of the Director F3, subject to any provisions contained in the Criminal Justice Act 1987 —

C3a

to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings, other than specified proceedings, instituted on behalf of a police force (whether by a member of that force or by any other person);

F4aa

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted by an immigration officer (as defined for the purposes of the M1Immigration Act 1971) acting in his capacity as such an officer;

F35ab

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted in England and Wales by the Revenue and Customs;

F31ac

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted on behalf of the National Crime Agency;

C3b

to institute and have the conduct of criminal proceedings in any case where it appears to him that—

i

the importance or difficulty of the case makes it appropriate that proceedings should be instituted by him; or

ii

it is otherwise appropriate for proceedings to be instituted by him;

F5ba

to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings in any case where the proceedings relate to the subject-matter of a report a copy of which has been sent to him under paragraph 23 or 24 of Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30)(reports on investigations into conduct of persons serving with the police);

F36bb

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings in England and Wales relating to a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs;

F32bc

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings relating to a criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency;

C3c

to take over the conduct of all binding over proceedings instituted on behalf of a police force (whether by a member of that force or by any other person);

C3d

to take over the conduct of all proceedings begun by summons issued under section 3 of the M2Obscene Publications Act 1959 (forfeiture of obscene articles);

e

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, advice to police forces on all matters relating to criminal offences;

F6ea

to have the conduct of any extradition proceedings;

eb

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, and to such persons as he considers appropriate, advice on any matters relating to extradition proceedings or proposed extradition proceedings;

F7ec

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, advice to immigration officers on matters relating to criminal offences;

F33ed

to give advice, to such extent as he considers appropriate and to such person as he considers appropriate, in relation to—

i

criminal investigations by the National Crime Agency, or

ii

criminal proceedings arising out of such investigations;

F37ee

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, and to such persons as he considers appropriate, advice on matters relating to—

i

a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs; or

ii

criminal proceedings instituted in England and Wales relating to a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs;

f

to appear for the prosecution, when directed by the court to do so, on any appeal under—

i

section 1 of the M3Administration of Justice Act 1960 (appeal from the High Court in criminal cases);

ii

Part I or Part II of the M4Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (appeals from the Crown Court to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the F28Supreme Court ); or

iii

section 108 of the M5Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (right of appeal to Crown Court) as it applies, by virtue of subsection (5) of section 12 of the M6Contempt of Court Act 1981, to orders made under section 12 (contempt of magistrates’ courts); F8. . .

F9fa

to have the conduct of applications for orders under F51F56Chapter 1 of Part 11 of the Sentencing Code (criminal behaviour orders made on conviction) and section 14A of the Football Spectators Act 1989 (banning orders made on conviction of certain offences);

F10faa

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to have the conduct of applications made by him for orders under section 14B of the Football Spectators Act 1989 (banning orders made on complaint);

F11fb

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to have the conduct of F57applications under section 336 of the Sentencing Code for the variation or discharge of orders made under F58Chapter 1 of Part 11 of that Code;

fc

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to appear on any application under F52section 27 of that Act made by a person subject to an order under F53section 22 of that Act for the variation or discharge of the order.

F54fd

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F54fe

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F21ff

to discharge such duties as are conferred on him by, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (civil recovery of the proceeds etc. of unlawful conduct, civil recovery investigations and disclosure orders in relation to confiscation investigations);

F61fg

to have the conduct of applications for orders under section 19 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (knife crime prevention orders made on conviction);

F62fh

to have the conduct of applications for orders under section 342A of the Sentencing Code (serious violence reduction orders);

g

to discharge such other functions as may from time to time be assigned to him by the Attorney General in pursuance of this paragraph.

F122A

Subsection (2)(ea) above does not require the Director to have the conduct of any extradition proceedings in respect of a person if he has received a request not to do so and—

a

in a case where the proceedings are under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003, the request is made by the authority which issued the Part 1 warrant in respect of the person;

b

in a case where the proceedings are under Part 2 of that Act, the request is made on behalf of the territory to which the person’s extradition has been requested.

3

In this section—

  • “the court ” means—

a

in the case of an appeal to or from the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, that division;

b

in the case of an appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division, the Divisional Court; and

c

in the case of an appeal against an order of a magistrates’ court, the Crown Court;

  • F38“criminal investigation” means any process—

    1. i

      for considering whether an offence has been committed;

    2. ii

      for discovering by whom an offence has been committed; or

    3. iii

      as a result of which an offence is alleged to have been committed;

  • “police force ” means any police force maintained by a F30local policing bodyF55. . . and any other body of constables for the time being specified by order made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section; and

  • “specified proceedings ” means proceedings which fall within any category for the time being specified by order made by the Attorney General for the purposes of this section.

F343A

In this section a reference to the Revenue and Customs is a reference to—

a

the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

b

an officer of Revenue and Customs; or

c

a person acting on behalf of the Commissioners or an officer of Revenue and Customs.

4

The power to make orders under subsection (3) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

4 Crown Prosecutors.

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4

In section 88 of the M7Solicitors Act 1974 (which, amongst other things, provides that solicitors in public departments are not required to hold practising certificates) the following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (1)—

1A

The exemption from the requirement to hold a practising certificate conferred by subsection (1) above shall not apply to solicitors who are Crown Prosecutors.

5

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5 Conduct of prosecutions on behalf of the Service.

1

The Director may at any time appoint a person who is not a Crown Prosecutor but F15who has a general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990) to institute or take over the conduct of such criminal proceedings F16or extradition proceedings as the Director may assign to him.

F391A

The Director may at any time appoint such a person—

a

to exercise a function of the Director under section 3(2)(ab) or (bb) in relation to a class or description of criminal proceedings specified in the appointment;

b

to exercise a function of the Director under section 3(2)(ee) in relation to—

i

such criminal proceedings as are specified in the appointment, or

ii

a class or description of criminal proceedings specified in the appointment; or

c

to appear in—

i

Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings specified in the appointment, or

ii

a class or description of Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings specified in the appointment.

1B

In subsection (1A)—

  • “Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings” means proceedings in which the Director or a Crown Prosecutor would otherwise appear by virtue of section 302A(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (cash recovery proceedings relating to revenue and customs matters).

2

Any person conducting proceedings assigned to him under F40subsection (1) or exercising functions by virtue of an appointment made under subsection (1A) shall have all the powers of a Crown Prosecutor but shall exercise those powers subject to any instructions given to him by a Crown Prosecutor.

6 Prosecutions instituted and conducted otherwise than by the Service.

1

Subject to subsection (2) below, nothing in this Part shall preclude any person from instituting any criminal proceedings or conducting any criminal proceedings to which the Director’s duty to take over the conduct of proceedings does not apply.

2

Where criminal proceedings are instituted in circumstances in which the Director is not under a duty to take over their conduct, he may nevertheless do so at any stage.

7 Delivery of recognizances etc. to Director.

1

Where the Director or any Crown Prosecutor gives notice to any justice of the peace that he has instituted, or is conducting, any criminal proceedings, the justice shall—

a

at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner; or

b

in a particular case, at the time and in the manner directed by the Attorney General;

send him every recognizance, information, certificate, deposition, document and thing connected with those proceedings which the justice is required by law to deliver to the appropriate officer of the Crown Court.

2

The Attorney General may make regulations for the purpose of supplementing this section; and in subsection (1) above “prescribed ” means prescribed by the regulations.

3

The Director or, as the case may be, Crown Prosecutor shall—

a

subject to the regulations, cause anything which is sent to him under subsection (1) above to be delivered to the appropriate officer of the Crown Court; and

b

be under the same obligation (on the same payment) to deliver to an applicant copies of anything so sent as that officer.

4

It shall be the duty of F17the designated officer for every magistrates' court to send to the Director, in accordance with the regulations, a copy of the information and of any depositions and other documents relating to any case in which—

a

a prosecution for an offence before F18the magistrates' court is withdrawn or is not proceeded with within a reasonable time;

b

the Director does not have the conduct of the proceedings; and

c

there is some ground for suspecting that there is no satisfactory reason for the withdrawal or failure to proceed.

F197A Powers of non-legal staff.

1

The Director may designate F45under this subsection members of the staff of the Crown Prosecution Service who are not Crown Prosecutors.

2

Subject to such exceptions (if any) as may be specified in the designation F42under subsection (1) , a person so designated shall have such of the following as may be so specified, namely—

a

the powers and rights of audience of a Crown Prosecutor in relation to—

i

applications for, or relating to, bail in criminal proceedings;

ii

the conduct of criminal proceedings in magistrates’ courts other than trials F25of offences triable either way or offences which are punishable with imprisonment in the case of persons aged 21 or over ;

F26iii

the conduct of applications or other proceedings relating to preventative civil orders;

iv

the conduct of proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) in, or in connection with, the discharge of functions assigned to the Director under section 3(2)(g) above.

F27b

any powers of a Crown Prosecutor that do not involve the exercise of such rights of audience as are mentioned in paragraph (a) above but are exercisable in relation to the conduct of—

i

criminal proceedings in magistrates' courts, or

ii

applications or proceedings falling within paragraph (a)(iii) or (iv).

F412A

The Director may designate under this subsection members of the staff of the Crown Prosecution Service who are not Crown Prosecutors.

2B

A person designated under subsection (2A) has the powers and rights of audience of a Crown Prosecutor in relation to—

a

Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings specified in the designation under subsection (2A), or

b

a class or description of Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings specified in the designation under subsection (2A).

3

A person F46designated under subsection (1) or (2A) shall exercise F47any powers so conferred subject to instructions given to him by the Director.

4

Any such instructions may be given so as to apply generally.

F235

In this section—

  • “bail in criminal proceedings” has the same meaning as in the Bail Act 1976 (see section 1 of that Act);

  • “preventative civil orders” means—

    1. a

      orders within section 3(2)(fa) to (fe) above;

    2. b

      orders under F59section 360 of the Sentencing Code or section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (restraining orders); or

    3. c

      orders under section 8 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 F60or section 366 or 369 of the Sentencing Code (parenting orders).

  • F43“Revenue and Customs cash recovery proceedings” has the meaning given by section 5(1B).

5A

For the purposes of this section a trial begins with the opening of the prosecution case after the entry of a plea of not guilty and ends with the conviction or acquittal of the accused.

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7

Details of the following for any year, namely—

a

the criteria applied by the Director in determining whether to designate persons F48under subsection (1) or (2A) ;

b

the training undergone by persons so designated; and

c

any general instructions given by the Director under subsection (4) above,

shall be set out in the Director’s report under section 9 of this Act for that year.

F228

As from 1 May 2011 nothing in this section confers on persons designated F44under subsection (1) or (2A) —

a

any rights of audience, or

b

any right to conduct litigation,

for the purposes of Part 3 of the Legal Services Act 2007 (reserved legal activities).

9

As from that date the following provisions of that Act accordingly do not apply to persons designated F49under subsection (1) or (2A) —

a

paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 3 (exemption for persons with statutory rights of audience), and

b

paragraph 2(3) of that Schedule (exemption for persons with statutory right to conduct litigation).

10

The Attorney General may by order make such modifications in the application of any enactment (including this section) in relation to persons designated F50under subsection (1) or (2A) as the Attorney General considers appropriate in consequence of, or in connection with, the matters provided for by subsections (8) and (9).

11

The Attorney General may also by order amend subsection (2)(a)(ii) so as to omit the words “or offences which are punishable with imprisonment in the case of persons aged 21 or over”.

12

The power to make an order under subsection (10) or (11) is exercisable by statutory instrument, but a statutory instrument containing such an order may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.