Court
of Appeal (Criminal) (Retrial after Acquittal) Rules 2021
Made 23rd September 2021
Coming into
force 1st October 2021
1 Interpretation and application
(1) In
these Rules “Schedule 2” means Schedule 2 to the Criminal
Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018.
(2) These
Rules apply to determinations by the Court of Appeal under paragraph 4 of
Schedule 2 whether to –
(a) quash an acquittal for an
offence and order a person to be retried; or
(b) order that an acquittal
outside Jersey is no bar to the person being tried in Jersey,
if there is new and
compelling evidence and it is in the interests of justice to make the order.
2 Application for reporting restriction
pending an application for order for retrial
(1) This
Rule applies where –
(a) no application has been
made under Rule 3;
(b) an investigation on
behalf of the Attorney General has begun into an offence with a view to an
application under that Rule; and
(c) the Attorney General
wishes the Court of Appeal to make, vary or remove an order for a reporting
restriction under paragraph 9 of Schedule 2.
(2) The
Attorney General must –
(a) lodge with the Court a
written application; and
(b) unless the Court
otherwise directs, send a copy of the application to the person who has been
acquitted.
(3) The
application must, as appropriate –
(a) explain why the Attorney
General wishes the Court to direct that it need not be sent to the person who
was acquitted until the application under Rule 3 is made;
(b) specify the proposed
terms of the order, and for how long it should last;
(c) explain why an order in
the terms proposed is necessary;
(d) explain why an order
should be varied or removed.
3 Application for an order for retrial
(1) This
Rule applies where –
(a) a person has been
acquitted of a qualifying offence in proceedings –
(i) before the Royal Court
under the Loi (1864) réglant la Procédure Criminelle,
(ii) on appeal against a
conviction under that Loi,
(iii) on appeal from a decision
on such an appeal,
(iv) under Part 7 of the Criminal
Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018,
(v) on appeal against a conviction under that
Part 7, or
(vi) on appeal from a decision
on such an appeal; or
(b) a person has been
acquitted, in proceedings elsewhere than in Jersey, of an offence under the law
of the place where the proceedings were held, if the commission of the offence
as alleged would have amounted to or included the commission (in Jersey or
elsewhere) of a qualifying offence; and
(c) the Attorney General
wishes the Court of Appeal, as the case may be –
(i) to make an order
quashing the acquittal and ordering that the person be retried for the offence,
or
(ii) to determine whether the
acquittal outside Jersey is a bar to the person’s trial in Jersey and, if it
is, whether that acquittal shall not be such a bar.
(2) The
Attorney General must lodge with the Court a written application.
(3) The
person who was acquitted must be served personally, or as a single judge may
direct, with –
(a) a copy of the
application; together with
(b) a notice charging the
person with the offence, unless the person has already been arrested and
charged.
(4) The
application must –
(a) give details, with
relevant facts and dates, of the person’s acquittal;
(b) explain –
(i) what new and compelling
evidence there is against the person, and
(ii) why in all the
circumstances it would be in the interests of justice for the Court to make the
order sought;
(c) include or attach any
application for the following, with reasons –
(i) an order under paragraph 7(6)
of Schedule 2 for the production of any document,
exhibit or other thing which in the Attorney General’s opinion is necessary for
the determination of the application,
(ii) an order under that
paragraph for the attendance before the court of any witness who would be a
compellable witness at the trial the Attorney General wishes the court to
order, or
(iii) an order for a reporting
restriction under paragraph 9 of Schedule 2; and
(d) attach –
(i) written witness
statements of the evidence on which the Attorney General relies as new and
compelling evidence against the person,
(ii) relevant documents from
the trial at which the person was acquitted, including a record of the offence
or offences charged and of the evidence given, and
(iii) any other document or
thing that the Attorney General thinks the Court will need to decide the
application.
4 Respondent’s notice
(1) An
acquitted person who has received a copy of an application may serve a
respondent’s notice, and must do so if he or she
wishes to make representations to the Court.
(2) The
person must send the respondent’s notice to the Judicial Greffier
and a copy to the Attorney General not more than 28 days after –
(a) the person receives the
application; or
(b) a direction to do so.
(3) The
respondent’s notice must –
(a) give the date on which
the respondent received the Attorney General’s application;
(b) summarize any relevant
facts not contained in that application;
(c) explain the respondent’s
grounds for opposing that application;
(d) include or attach any
application for the following, with reasons –
(i) an extension of time
within which to serve the respondent’s notice,
(ii) bail pending the hearing
of the Attorney General’s application, if the respondent is in custody,
(iii) a direction to attend in
person any hearing that the respondent could attend by live link, if the
respondent is in custody,
(iv) an order under paragraph
7(6) of Schedule 2 for the production of any
document, exhibit or other thing which in the respondent’s opinion is necessary
for the determination of the Attorney General’s application,
(v) an order under that paragraph for the
attendance before the Court of any witness who would be a compellable witness
at the trial the Attorney General wishes the Court to order; and
(e) attach or identify any
other document or thing that the respondent thinks the Court will need to
decide the application.
5 Court of Appeal (Criminal)
Rules 1964 to apply
The Court
of Appeal (Criminal) Rules 1964 apply with
the necessary modifications to an application in accordance with Rule 3.
6 Citation and commencement
These Rules may be cited as the Court of Appeal (Criminal) (Retrial
after Acquittal) Rules 2021 and come into force on 1st October 2021.