Criminal Justice Act 1925

Part IIE+W Jurisdiction and Procedure

Indictable Offences generallyE+W

11†Venue in indictable offences.E+W

(1), (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(3)Where a person is charged with an offence [F2against the M1Forgery Act 1913 or with an offence indictable at common law or]under any Act for the time being in force, consisting in the forging or altering of any matter whatsoever, or in offering, uttering, disposing of or putting off any matter whatsoever, knowing the same to be forged or altered, and the offence relates to documents made for the purpose of any Act relating to the suppression of the slave trade, the offence shall for the purposes of jurisdiction and trial be treated as an offence against the M2Slave Trade Act 1873.

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3E+W

13†Binding over of witnesses conditionally and reading of depositions at trial.E+W

(1), (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

(3)Where any person has been committed for trial for any offence, the deposition of any person taken before the examining justices may, if the conditions hereinafter set out are satisfied, without further proof be read as evidence on the trial of that person, whether for that offence or for any other offence arising out of the same transaction, or set of circumstances, as that offence.

The conditions hereinbefore referred to are the following:—

(a)The deposition must be the deposition either of a witness [F5in respect of whom a conditional witness order, or an order treated as a conditional witness order, has been made under section 1 of the M3Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965], or of a witness who is proved at the trial by the oath of a credible witness to be dead or insane, or so ill as not to be able to travel, or to be kept out of the way by means of the procurement of the accused or on his behalf:

(b)It must be proved at the trial, either by a certificate purporting to be signed by the justice before whom the deposition purports to have been taken or by the clerk to the examining justices, or by the oath of a credible witness, that the deposition was taken in the presence of the accused and that the accused or his counsel or solicitor had full opportunity of cross–examining the witness:

(c)The deposition must purport to be signed by the justice before whom it purports to have been taken:

Provided that the provisions of this subsection shall not have effect in any case in which it is proved—

(i)That the deposition, or, where the proof required by paragraph (b) of this subsection is given by means of a certificate, that the certificate, was not in fact signed by the justice by whom it purports to have been signed or;

(ii)Where the deposition is the deposition of a witness [F5in respect of whom such an order as aforesaid has been made] that the witness has been duly notified that he is required to attend the trial.

(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F6

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F7

14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F8E+W

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F9E+W

16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F10E+W

17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F11E+W

18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F12E+W

19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F13E+W

20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F14E+W

21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F15E+W

22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F16E+W

23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F17E+W

Summary JurisdictionE+W

24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F18E+W

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F19E+W

26, 27.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F20E+W

28 Summary proceedings for offence under s. 3, and amendments of ss. 3 and 4, of Perjury Act, 1911.E+W

(1)Section three of the Perjury Act, 1911 (which relates to false statements as to marriages) shall have effect as though at the end of subsection (1) thereof there were inserted the words “and on summary conviction thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds”.

(2)A person convicted summarily of an offence under section four of thePerjury Act, 1911 (which relates to false statements as to births or deaths), shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds.

(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F21

29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F22E+W

30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F23E+W

31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F24E+W

MiscellaneousE+W

32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F25E+W

33 Procedure on charge of offence against corporation. E+W

(1), (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F26

(3)[F27On arraignment of a corporation, the corporation may], enter in writing by its representative a plea of guilty or not guilty, and if either the corporation does not appear by a representative or, though it does so appear, fails to enter as aforesaid any plea, the court shall order a plea of not guilty to be entered and the trial shall proceed as though the corporation had duly entered a plea of not guilty.

(4)Provision may be made by rules under the M4Indictments Act 1915 with respect to the service on any corporation charged with an indictable offence of any documents requiring to be served in connection with the proceedings, except in so far as such provision may be made by rules [F28under section 144 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980].

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F26

(6)In this section the expression “representative” in relation to a corporation means a person duly appointed by the corporation to represent it for the purpose of doing any act or thing which the representative of a corporation is by this section authorized to do, but a person so appointed shall not, by virtue only of being so appointed, be qualified to act on behalf of the corporation before any court for any other purpose.

A representative for the purposes of this section need not be appointed under the seal of the corporation, and a statement in writing purporting to be signed by a managing director of the corporation, or by any person (by whatever name called) having, or being one of the persons having, the management of the affairs of the corporation, to the effect that the person named in the statement has been appointed as the representative of the corporation for the purposes of this section shall be admissible without further proof as prima facie evidence that that person has been so appointed.

34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F29E+W