Criminal Procedure Rules

The Criminal Procedure Rules 2005

[This page was last updated on 23 June 2009]

What's new?

June 2009

New Criminal Practice Directions are in force about Victim Personal Statements and about pleas of guilty in the Crown Court.

On 14 May 2009, the Lord Chief Justice handed down amendments which change the Criminal Practice Direction at paragraphs III.28 and IV.45.

Part III of the Practice Direction sets out 'Further Directions Applying in Magistrates' Courts and the Crown Court'. The Lord Chief Justice amended paragraph III.28 to draw renewed attention to the Victim Personal Statement scheme. The scheme started on 1 October 2001, to give victims a more formal opportunity to say how a crime has affected them. The new paragraphs replace the previous version.

Part IV sets out 'Further Directions Applying in the Crown Court'. The Lord Chief Justice replaced paragraph IV.45 with a new direction, titled 'Pleas of Guilty in the Crown Court', about the procedure to be followed when a defendant wants to put forward a plea of guilty. This removes the existing paragraphs, 'Discussions about sentence'.

New forms

The Lord Chief Justice also handed down new forms for use in connection with The Criminal Procedure Rules 2005. They are:

Part 19 Bail in magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court
Notice of application relating to bail (for use in connection with rules 19.1 and 19.18) (PDF - opens new window)

Part 37 Trial and sentence in a magistrates' court
Rule 37.8: This is a summons and notice of plea, which is issued by magistrates' courts and so is not published here.
Statutory Declaration (rule 37.11) (PDF - opens new window)

Part 68 Appeal to the Court of Appeal about conviction or sentence
Notice and Grounds of Appeal, or Application for Permission to Appeal, to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division about a Serious Crime Prevention Order (rule 68.1) (PDF - opens new window)

Respondent’s Notice and Grounds of Opposition to an Appeal in relation to a Serious Crime Prevention Order (rule 68.6) (PDF - opens new window)

Part 74 Appeal or reference to the House of Lords
Notice of Application for Permission to Appeal to the House of Lords (or to the United Kingdom Supreme Court from October 2009) (Part 74) (PDF - opens new window)

8th Update, March 2009 – this update contains

Changes to The Criminal Procedure Rules 2005 made by The Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2008, affecting the rules about: understanding and applying the Criminal Procedure Rules (Part 2); bail in magistrates’ courts and in the Crown Court (Part 19); initial details of the prosecution case (Part 21); trial and sentence in a magistrates’ court (Part 37); and breach, revocation and amendment of community and other orders in a magistrates’ court (Part 44).
Recent changes to the Consolidated Criminal Practice Direction. Amendment number 21 to the Practice Direction, handed down on 28 August 2008, introduced a new direction about witness anonymity orders (paragraph I.15 of the Practice Direction). It introduced a new notice of appeal, and a new notice to abandon an appeal, for use with the new Part 63 of the Criminal Procedure Rules (appeal to the Crown Court) that came into force on 6 October 2008. This update also contains a new form of statutory declaration for use in connection with the new Part 37 rules (trial and sentence in a magistrates’ court).

The rule changes come into force on 6 April 2009. A full description is in the Notes to Accompany this update.