Criminal Justice
(Suspension of Prison Sentences) (Jersey) Law 2003
A LAW to enable a court to order, in
specified cases, that an offender shall not be imprisoned in accordance with a
sentence of imprisonment it has passed unless the offender is convicted of
another offence, committed during a specified period, for which the offender
may be imprisoned; and for related purposes.
Adopted by the
States 8th July 2003
Sanctioned by
Order of Her Majesty in Council 13th November 2003
Registered by the
Royal Court 12th
December 2003
THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have
adopted the following Law –
1 Interpretation
(1) In
this Law –
“operational period”, in respect of a suspended sentence, means the period
specified in respect of the suspended sentence in accordance with Article
2(1)(a) or, if a period is substituted for that period by an order made under
Article 3(4)(c), the substituted period;
“sentence of imprisonment” does not include imprisonment –
(a) in
default of payment of a sum; or
(b) for
a failure to do or abstain from doing anything required to be done or to be left
undone;
“supervision order” means an order made under Article 6(1);
“suspended sentence” means a sentence to which a suspension order relates;
“suspension order”, in respect of a sentence of imprisonment, means an order
made in respect of that sentence in accordance with Article 2(1).
(2) A
reference in this Law to an Article by number only is a reference to the
Article of that number in this Law.
(3) A
reference in an Article or any other division of this Law to a paragraph or
sub-paragraph by number or letter only is a reference to the paragraph or
sub-paragraph of that number or letter in the Article or other division.
(4) Unless
the context otherwise requires, a reference in this Law to an enactment is a
reference to that enactment as amended from time to time and includes a
reference to that enactment as extended or applied under another enactment,
including another provision of this Law.
(5) If
on an appeal a court passes a suspended sentence the court that imposed the
original sentence shall for the purposes of this Law be taken to have passed
the suspended sentence.
(6) For
the purpose of this Law consecutive terms of imprisonment and terms of
imprisonment which are wholly or partly concurrent shall be treated as a single
term of imprisonment.
2 Power
to suspend sentence of imprisonment
(1) Except
as provided by paragraph (5), a court that has sentenced an offender to a term
of imprisonment of not more than 2 years may order that the offender shall not
be imprisoned in accordance with that sentence unless –
(a) during
a period specified in the order, being not less than one year and not more than
2 years, the offender commits in the Island a further offence punishable by
imprisonment; and
(b) the
court that convicts the offender for that offence makes an order under Article
3 that the offender shall be imprisoned, either for the original term or for a
lesser term.
(2) A
court shall not make a suspension order unless it is satisfied that if it did
not have the power to do so a sentence of imprisonment would still be an
appropriate sentence.
(3) If
a court makes a suspension order it shall not –
(a) make
a probation order in respect of the offender; or
(b) impose
a term of imprisonment in respect of another offence of which the offender is
convicted by or before the court or for which the offender is dealt with by the
court unless the suspension order also applies in respect of that term of
imprisonment,
but the court is not otherwise prohibited from imposing on the
offender any other penalty, sanction or obligation it has the power to impose
by virtue of the offence or offences committed by the offender.
(4) On
passing a suspended sentence the court shall explain to the offender in
ordinary language the offender’s liability under Article 3 if during the
operational period the offender commits an offence punishable by imprisonment.
(5) A
court has no power to make a suspension order in respect of –
(a) youth
detention - being a sentence of detention in a young offenders institution
imposed by virtue of Article 4(1) of the Criminal
Justice (Young Offenders) (Jersey) Law 1994;[1] or
(b) a
sentence of imprisonment that is to take effect during or after an existing
term of imprisonment in respect of which no suspension order has been made.
(6) The
fact that a suspension order has been made in respect of a sentence of
imprisonment has no effect on any right of appeal the offender may have in
respect of that sentence.
(7) If
a court imposes consecutive terms of imprisonment or terms of imprisonment that
are wholly or partly concurrent and the total term of imprisonment is more than
2 years the court has no power under this Article to make a suspension order in
respect of any of those terms of imprisonment.
3 Conviction
of further offence punishable by imprisonment
(1) This
Article applies where –
(a) a
court has passed a suspended sentence in respect of an offender;
(b) a
court has not made an order under paragraph (2) or (4)(a) in respect of that
sentence; and
(c) the
offender has been convicted of a further offence punishable by imprisonment
committed during the operational period in respect of the suspended sentence.
(2) Except
as provided by paragraph (3) and Article 4, the court that convicted the
offender of the further offence shall order that the offender shall be
imprisoned in accordance with the original sentence with the term of
imprisonment unaltered.
(3) The
court shall not make an order under paragraph (2) if it is satisfied that it
would be unjust to do so having regard to any circumstances that have arisen
since the suspended sentence was passed, including the facts of the further
offence.
(4) If
by virtue of paragraph (3) a court does not make an order under paragraph (2)
it shall state its reasons for not doing so and shall order –
(a) that
the offender shall be imprisoned in accordance with the original sentence but
with the substitution of a lesser term of imprisonment for the original term;
(b) that
the offender shall continue not to be imprisoned; or
(c) that
the operational period in respect of the suspended sentence shall be varied by
substituting for the original period a period ending not later than 2 years
after the date of the variation.
(5) When
a court makes an order under paragraph (2) or (4)(a), it shall state in that
order whether imprisonment in accordance with the original sentence is to start
immediately or on the expiration of another term of imprisonment passed on the
offender by that or another court.
(6) Where
the Royal Court could be required to make an order under this Article any
question as to whether an offender has been convicted of an offence punishable
by imprisonment shall be determined by the Bailiff sitting alone.
(7) If
a court makes an order under this Article and it is not the court that passed
the suspended sentence it shall give details of the order it makes under this
Article to the court that passed the suspended sentence.
(8) For
the purposes of any enactment conferring rights of appeal in criminal cases an
order made by a court under this Article shall be treated as a sentence passed
on the offender by the court that passed the suspended sentence.
4 Power
of Magistrate’s Court under Article 3
(1) This
Article applies where –
(a) Article
3 applies and, but for this Article, the Magistrate’s Court would be
required to make an order under that Article; and
(b) the
relevant suspended sentence was passed by the Royal Court.
(2) Where
this Article applies the Magistrate’s court may –
(a) commit
the offender (on bail or in custody) to the Royal Court for an order to be made
under Article 3 and for the offender to be sentenced for the subsequent
offence; or
(b) deal
with the offender in respect of the subsequent offence and make an order under
Article 3(4)(b) that the offender shall continue not to be imprisoned under the
suspended sentence.
(3) If
the Magistrate’s Court acts in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) the
Royal Court shall have –
(a) the
power to make an appropriate order under Article 3; and
(b) the
same power as the Magistrate’s Court to sentence the offender for the
subsequent offence.
(4) If
the Magistrate’s Court acts in accordance with paragraph (2)(b) it
shall give the Royal Court and the Attorney General details of the manner in
which it dealt with the offender for the subsequent offence.
5 Court
fails to make order under Article 3
(1) If
the Royal Court is satisfied that it or the Magistrate’s Court should
have made an order under Article 3 in respect of an offender but failed to do
so it may order that the offender be apprehended or warned to appear before the
Royal Court which may thereupon make an order under Article 3.
(2) If
the Magistrate’s Court passed the relevant suspended sentence it shall
have the same power under paragraph (1) as the Royal Court.
6 Court
may order supervision
(1) Where
a court passes a suspended sentence it may also make an order placing the
offender under the supervision of a supervising officer, being either a
probation officer (as that term is defined in the Loi (1937) sur
l’atténuation des peines et sur la mise en liberté
surveillée[2]) or another person appointed
by the court.
(2) A
court does not require the consent of the offender before making a supervision
order.
(3) The
court shall specify in a supervision order the period during which the offender
is to be subject to supervision, being a period that does not exceed the
operational period in respect of the suspended sentence.
(4) The
court shall –
(a) give
a copy of the supervision order to the offender and to the supervising officer;
and
(b) explain
to the offender in ordinary language the effect of the order.
(5) An
offender in respect of whom a supervision order is in force shall –
(a) keep
in touch with the supervising officer in accordance with instructions given to
him or her by the officer; and
(b) notify
the officer of any change of address.
(6) A
supervision order shall cease to have effect if before the end of the period
specified in it –
(a) a
court makes an order under Article 3(2) or (4)(a); or
(b) the
order is discharged under paragraph (7) or replaced under paragraph (8).
(7) A
court that has made a supervision order may discharge it on the application of
the supervising officer or the offender.
(8) If
a court makes an order under Article 3(4)(a) or (b) it may also make a
supervision order in respect of the offender, which shall replace any
supervision order already in effect.
(9) If
it appears to the Magistrate’s Court that an offender in respect of whom
a supervision order is in effect has not complied with an obligation under
paragraph (5) it may order that the offender be apprehended or warned to appear
before that Court and may thereupon enquire into the matter and if satisfied
that the offender has failed to comply with the requirement may impose on him or
her a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale[3] and also impose a term of
imprisonment, not exceeding one month, to be served if the fine is not paid
within a specified period.
(10) For the
purposes of any enactment conferring rights of appeal in criminal cases a
supervision order made by a court under this Article shall be treated as a
sentence passed on the offender by that court.
7 Legislative
effect of suspended sentence
Unless a contrary intention appears a suspended sentence shall be
treated as a sentence of imprisonment for the purpose of all enactments.
8 Rules
of Court
(1) Provision
may be made by Rules of Court for any purpose for which it appears to be
necessary or expedient that provision should be made in connection with this
Law.
(2) The
power to make Rules of Court under Article 11 of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948[4] shall include a power to
make Rules for the purposes of this Article.
9 Rehabilitation
of Offenders (Jersey) Law 2001 amended
(1) For
Article 2(4) of the Rehabilitation of
Offenders (Jersey) Law 2001[5] there shall be substituted
the following paragraph –
“(4) An individual shall not be
treated as having failed to satisfy the condition in paragraph (2)(b) by reason
only of –
(a) the failure to pay a fine or other sum
adjudged to be paid by or imposed on a conviction, or breach of a condition of
a binding over order;
(b) the breach of any condition or requirement
applicable in relation to a sentence which renders the person to whom it
applies liable to be dealt with for the offence for which the sentence was
imposed, or, where the sentence was a suspended sentence of imprisonment,
liable to be dealt with in respect of that sentence (whether or not, in any
case, he or she is in fact so dealt with); or
(c) a failure to comply with any requirement of
a suspended sentence supervision order.”.
(2) For
Article 3(5) of the Rehabilitation of
Offenders (Jersey) Law 2001[6] there shall be substituted
the following paragraph –
“(5) For the purposes of this
Article –
(a) ‘sentence of imprisonment’
includes a sentence of penal servitude or hard labour, and ‘term of
imprisonment’ shall be construed accordingly;
(b) consecutive terms of imprisonment or of
detention and terms that are wholly or partly concurrent, being terms of
imprisonment or detention imposed in respect of offences of which a person was
convicted in the same proceedings, shall be treated as a single term;
(c) no account shall be taken of any subsequent
variation, made by a court in dealing with a person in respect of a suspended
sentence of imprisonment, of the term originally imposed; and
(d) a sentence imposed by a court outside the
Island shall be treated as a sentence of that one of the descriptions in this
Article which most nearly corresponds to the sentence imposed.”.
10 Citation
and commencement
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Suspension of Prison Sentences)
(Jersey) Law 2003.
(2) It
shall come into force on the seventh day following registration.
M.N. DE LA HAYE
Greffier of the States.