The Criminal Procedure Rule Committee has made the first consolidating edition of the Criminal Procedure Rules.
The Criminal Procedure Rules affect all criminal courts in England and Wales – magistrates’ courts, the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
The purpose of consolidation is to ensure that the rules can be found in one authoritative edition, ensuring that the public can obtain an up-to-date paper copy of the rules and have confidence that they can easily see what is required of the participants in a criminal trial in England and Wales.
The Statutory Instrument setting out these consolidating rules, the Criminal Procedure Rules 2010, was laid in Parliament on 29 January 2010. This instrument restates the Criminal Procedure Rules 2005 as currently in force, with fully updated footnotes; and where necessary introduces new rules, for example those required by recent changes in primary legislation such as the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
The new rules will come into force on 5 April 2010, replacing the Criminal Procedure Rules 2005 and their eight amending statutory instruments.
© Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland
