#19570 - 4. Criminal Litigation 2023 2024 Bail - BPC Criminal Litigation (formerly BPTC) 2024/2025

At any time, the Mags’ may adjourn proceedings:

• It is possible to challenge the grant or refusal of an adjournment by way of judicial review;

• Can do with a single judge;

• When the accused is present may remand him and shall do so if this is a first appearance and beforehand he was in custody or bail, or was remanded at any other time of the proceedings; and

• There is no need to fix the date for the next hearing at the time of adjourning, if there is a remand a date must be fixed;

  • If they fail to appear and are not remanded there is no offence but it may be possible to issue an arrest warrant or for proceedings to be conducted in the absence of the accused.

  • If they fail to appear and are remanded and fail to appear without reasonable cause an offence is committed.

Where the period expires before completion of the stage of proceedings, the accused must be granted bail in relation to the offence to which the limit relates.

Time limit may be extended if the CC is satisfied that:

• The prosecution has acted with all due diligence and expedition; and

• That there is good and sufficient cause for doing so.

There is a rebuttable presumption in favour of bail.

• Bar in homicide and rape (if previous conviction) cases unless there are exceptional circumstances which justify it.

• Bar where an accused has been committed to the CC for sentence.

Remands in Mags’: bail or in custody.

Bail by the CC:

• Any person sent for trial in the CC;

• Who has been given a custodial sentence following conviction in the Mags’ and is appealing against conviction/sentence;

• In custody and pending disposal;

• Seeking judicial review; and

• Seeking certificate that the case is fit for appeal.

A person charged with murder may not be granted bail except by order of a Crown Court judge. Must be done within 48 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays) beginning with the day after the day on which the person appears before the Mags’.

Statutory grounds for refusing bail:

• Substantial risk of absconding, further offences or interference with witnesses;

• Real prospect of custodial sentence when D is over 18;

• Already on bail for another offence;

• Own protection; and

• Already serving a custodial sentence for another offence.

The Court will take into account the below factors when deciding whether the grounds for refusing bail are made out:

• The nature and seriousness of the offence;

• The defendant’s character and antecedents;

• The defendant’s associations and community ties;

• The defendant’s previous record of offences on bail;

• The strength of the prosecution case; and

• Substantial grounds to believe he would commit an offence by engaging in conduct likely to cause mental/physical injury to another.

Where the offence is not punishable by imprisonment grounds for withholding bail are:

• Accused is under 18 and previously failed to surrender and would fail to surrender again;

• Own protection;

• Already serving a custodial sentence; and

• Substantial grounds that they would commit an offence on bail or cause physical or mental injury to an associated person.

Insufficient time to obtain sufficient information for the purposes of taking the decision of bail is only a ground for withholding bail to an accused charged with an imprisonable offence.

Duty to surrender to custody.

Commonly imposed conditions:

• Residence;

• Reporting;

• Change of address;

• Curfew;

• Electronic monitoring;

• Sureties or security;

• Restriction order; and

• Passport surrender.

Applications can be made to vary conditions to the court which granted bail or if the accused has been sent to the CC, to the CC.

Breach may result in the accused being arrested without warrant and bail being withdrawn.

Prosecution will set out their grounds for refusal and defence will set out their reply. The Court will then announce their decision.

• A decision cannot be made unless each party is present or has had an opportunity to make representations.

• Where the accused is in custody, bail may be considered in their absence where they have waived the right to attend or were present on the last occasion bail was refused and have been in custody continuously since then.

• The onus is on the Court to justify any refusal of bail.

• The Court must issue a certificate confirming full arguments were heard. The accused must be given a copy of the certificate.

May be online, in public or private.

If refused, the accused may make fully argued application at the next hearing.

An accused who has been refused bail by the Mags’ may apply for bail in CC and can appeal conditions to the CC.

• Written notice of intention must be given to the Mags, CC or prosecutor as soon as reasonably practicable after the decision of the Mags.

• The notice must explain why bail should not be withheld or why a condition should be varied, identify further information or legal argument, and attach the certificate.

• If the prosecution opposes the application they must notify the accused and CC at once, serving notice of their reasons.

• Application should be heard no later than the business day after the notice of application was served.

• May be heard in public or private and follows the pattern of a normal bail hearing.

• If one application has already been made to the CC, a new one may not be presented unless there are fresh arguments or considerations to be put before the court.

Limited to cases where:

• Accused is charged or convicted with an offence punishable by imprisonment;

• The prosecution is conducted by the DPP or specified prosecutor; and

• Before bail was granted, the prosecution made representations that bail should not be granted.

Procedural Requirements:

• Must give oral notice of appeal at the conclusion of proceedings (written notice within 2 hours) and before the accused is...