Costs in Criminal
Cases (Jersey) Law 1961
A LAW to empower Courts of Justice to order the payment of costs in
criminal and quasi-criminal cases and for purposes incidental thereto
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation and application
(1) In
this Law –
‘Criminal Procedure
Law’ means the Criminal
Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018;
‘Criminal Procedure
Rules’ shall be construed in accordance with Article 111(1) and 112
of the Criminal Procedure Law;
‘public fund’
means money of the States.[1]
(2) Article 2
of this Law shall apply to –
(a) the
Royal Court sitting as a court of assize or en Police Correctionnelle or dealing
with a matter of a criminal or quasi-criminal nature brought before the court
by the Attorney General;
(b) the
Magistrate’s Court sitting as a court of summary jurisdiction or
enquiring into an offence as Juge d’Instruction.
(3) References
in this Law to costs paid or ordered to be paid out of public funds shall be
construed as including references to any sums so paid or ordered to be paid as
compensation to or expenses of a witness or other person or as advocate’s
or solicitor’s fees.
2 Power of Royal Court or Magistrate’s Court to award costs
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Article, where any person is prosecuted or tried
before a court to which this Article applies, the court may –
(a) if
the accused is convicted, order the accused to pay the whole or any part of the
costs incurred in or about the prosecution and conviction;
(b) order
the payment out of public funds of the costs of the prosecution;
(c) if
the accused is discharged from the prosecution or acquitted, order the payment
out of public funds of the costs of the defence.
(2) The
costs which may be awarded by the Royal Court under paragraph (1) shall
include the costs incurred in or about any proceedings before the Juge
d’Instruction.
(3) The
costs of the prosecution payable under paragraph (1)(b) shall be such sums
as appear to the court reasonably sufficient to compensate any witness for the
prosecution for the expense, trouble or loss of time properly incurred in or
incidental to the witness’s attendance and giving evidence.
(4) The
costs of the defence payable under paragraph (1)(c) shall be such sums as
appear to the court reasonably sufficient to compensate the accused for the
expenses properly incurred by the accused in carrying on the defence and to
compensate any witness for the defence for the expense, trouble or loss of time
properly incurred in or incidental to the witness’s attendance and giving
evidence.
(5) Notwithstanding
that the court makes no order under paragraph (1)(c) for the payment of
the costs of the defence, it may order the payment out of public funds of such
sums as appear to the court reasonably sufficient to compensate any witness for
the defence for the expense, trouble or loss of time properly incurred in or
incidental to the witness’s attendance and giving evidence.
(6) Unless
the court otherwise directs, no sum shall be payable in pursuance of an order
under this Article to or in respect of any witness for the prosecution or
defence who is a witness to character only.
(7) Subject
to Article 5A, the amount of costs ordered to be paid under this Article
shall be determined by the Magistrate or the Royal Court by way of summary
assessment.[2]
(8) Where
a person committed for trial is not ultimately tried, the court to which the
person is committed shall have the same power to order payment of costs under
this Article as if the accused had been tried and acquitted.
(9) This
Article shall apply where a person is sent by the Magistrate’s Court to
the Royal Court under Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Law, to receive
sentence as it applies where a person is convicted before the Royal Court, but
shall not apply to the hearing by the Royal Court of an appeal from a decision
of the Magistrate’s Court.[3]
(10) In
this Article, the expression “witness” means a person properly
attending to give evidence, whether or not the witness gives evidence; and a
person called to give evidence at the instance of the court may, whether or not
the person is a witness for the defence, be made the subject of an order under paragraph (5).
3 Power of Superior Number of Royal Court or Court of Appeal to award
costs
(1) The
Superior Number of the Royal Court or the Court of Appeal may, when it
dismisses an appeal, or application for leave to appeal, under Part 3 of
the Court of Appeal
(Jersey) Law 1961, order the appellant to pay the whole or any part
of the costs of the appeal or application, including the cost of any transcript
of the shorthand notes of the proceedings at the trial made in accordance with
a direction given by the Judicial Greffier under Article 42 of the said
Law.
(2) This
paragraph applies where –
(a) the Superior
Number of the Royal Court allows an appeal against a sentence; or
(b) the
Court of Appeal allows an appeal against a conviction or a sentence.[4]
(2A) Where
paragraph (2) applies, the Royal Court or Court of Appeal (as the case may
be) may order the payment out of public funds of such sums as appear to the court
reasonably sufficient to compensate the appellant for any expenses properly
incurred in the prosecution of the appellant’s appeal, including any
proceedings preliminary or incidental thereto, or in carrying on the
appellant’s defence.[5]
(2B) Subject
to Article 5A, the amount of costs that the Royal Court or Court of Appeal
has ordered to be paid under paragraph (2A) shall be determined by way of
summary assessment by the court which determines the appeal.[6]
(3) Whether
or not the court makes an order under the provisions of this Article, there
shall be defrayed out of public funds, up to an amount allowed by the
court –
(a) where,
by reason of the insufficiency of the appellant’s means, an advocate has
been assigned to the appellant, the fees and expenses of the advocate;
(b) the
expenses of any witness attending on the order of the court, or examined in any
proceedings incidental to an appeal in the court;
(c) the
expenses of the appearance of the appellant on the hearing of the
appellant’s appeal or on any proceedings preliminary or incidental to the
appeal;
(d) the
expenses of and incidental to any examination of witnesses conducted by a
person appointed by the court for the purpose, or of any reference of a
question to a special commissioner appointed by the court; and
(e) the
expenses of any person appointed as assessor to the court.
(4) Except
as provided in this Article, no costs shall be allowed on the hearing or
determination of an appeal, or of any proceedings preliminary or incidental to
an appeal, under Part 3 of the Court of Appeal
(Jersey) Law 1961.
4 Payment of costs ordered to be paid out of public funds
As soon as the amount due
to any person as costs ordered or allowed under this Law or under Criminal
Procedure Rules, to be paid out of public funds has been assessed, the Judicial
Greffier shall make out and deliver to that person, or to any person appearing
to be acting on behalf of that person, an order on the Treasurer of the States
for the payment of that amount, and the Treasurer of the States shall, upon
sight of the order, pay to the person named therein, or the person’s duly
authorized agent, the sum specified in the order from any money made available
for the purpose under the Public Finances
(Jersey) Law 2019.[7]
5 Enforcement of costs payable by accused
(1) Where
the Royal Court orders the payment of costs by the accused under this Law or
under Criminal Procedure Rules, the payment shall be enforceable in the same
manner as an order for the payment of costs made by the Royal Court in a civil
case or out of any money taken from the accused on arrest so far as the court
directs.[8]
(2) Where
the Court of Appeal orders the payment of costs by the appellant under this
Law, the payment shall be enforceable in the same manner as an order for the
payment of costs made by the Royal Court in a civil case.
(3) Where
the Magistrate’s Court orders the payment of costs by the accused under
this Law or under Criminal Procedure Rules, the payment shall be enforced as a
civil debt without further order of the Court.[9]
(4) Where
the Royal Court or the Magistrate’s Court orders the payment of costs by
the accused and also orders the payment of costs out of public funds, the
costs, so far as they are payable under both orders, shall be primarily payable
out of those funds; and the court shall give notice to the Treasurer of the
States of the order for the payment of costs by the accused.
(5) To
the extent that any costs are primarily payable out of public funds under this
Law and have been paid out of those funds, payment of the costs shall be
enforceable under this Article by the Treasurer of the States; but, except as
aforesaid, payment of costs shall be enforceable under this Article by the
person to whom they are ordered to be paid.[10]
5A Assessment of costs[11]
(1) Where
costs are assessed under Articles 2 and 3 and if the court to which those
Articles apply makes an order for the payment of such costs, the amount awarded
must be reasonably sufficient to compensate the recipient for costs –
(a) actually,
reasonably and properly incurred; and
(b) which
are reasonable in amount.
(2) The
court may order the payment of any of the following –
(a) a
proportion of the amount assessed;
(b) a
stated amount less than that amount;
(c) costs
from or until a certain date only;
(d) costs
relating only to particular steps taken; or
(e) costs
relating only to a distinct part of the case.
6 Regulations[12]
The States may make
Regulations generally for carrying this Law into effect and, in particular, may
by such Regulations prescribe the rates or scales of payment of any costs
payable out of public funds or by the defendant under this Law and the
conditions under which such costs may be allowed.
7 Saving
Nothing in this Law shall
affect the provision in any enactment for the payment of the costs of the
prosecution or defence of any offence out of any assets, money or funds other
than public funds, or by any person other than the defendant.
8 Citation
This Law may be cited as
the Costs in Criminal Cases (Jersey) Law 1961.