English for Lawyers 1 Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30 e-mail: miljen.matijasevic@gmail.com Session 8

Today’s session Revision of the last session Criminal Procedure in England Vocabulary work

Revision of the last session Civil Procedure in England

Revision – Civil Procedure What is the civil procedure? Who are the parties? What are the possible remedies in civil cases? What is a summons? What are the defendant's options upon receiving a claim? What is the difference between the inquisitorial and adversarial approaches?

Criminal Procedure in the UK Unit 10

Criminal Law CRIMINAL LAW deals with certain forms of conduct for which the state reserves punishment, such as murder and theft

Criminal Law the parties (UK): THE CROWN – i.e. the state e.g. R v Collins (‘the Crown against Collins’) R stands for ‘Regina’, i.e. ‘Rex’, latin: Queen or King DEFENDANT – the person being prosecuted, the alleged criminal

Criminal Law the state is the prosecutor has interest in fighting crime criminal justice is administered with the help of the police the police investigate a crime, apprehend suspects and detain them in custody

Human Rights Act 1998 direct impact on the criminal procedure The Human Rights Act 1998 introduced the rights laid down in the European Convention on Human rights (Art 5 and 6) into English law in 2000 introduces provisions governing the right to a fair trial, presumption of innocence (Art 6) and the right to liberty and security (Art 5) all English statute and case law must now be measured against these provisions

The Right to a Fair Trial (Art 6) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the interests of juveniles or the private life of the parties so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to the law.

The Right to Liberty and Security (Art 5 of the ECHR) governs matters pertaining to unlawful arrest and detention and lays down the conditions under which an individual can be deprived of his or her liberty It also provides that everyone who has been the victim of arrest or detention in contravention of the provisions of this Article has an enforceable right to compensation.

The Prosecutors Most prosecutions undertaken by: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Criminal proceedings STANDARD OF PROOF in criminal trials, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, who, unlike in civil trials, must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt

Starting Proceedings upon investigation of a criminal act, the police may apprehend suspects and decide whether the offender should be prosecuted if so, a file is sent to the CPS CPS then decides whether there is a realistic prospect of conviction they must be sure that the evidence is legally admissible and reliable.

Starting Proceedings next they must consider whether a prosecution would be in the public interest criminal proceedings may be initiated by the serving of a requisition to appear in court (a.k.a. summons), or a warrant of arrest, issued by a magistrates’ court prosecution is not initiated in all cases, but the offender may only be cautioned

Caution in many cases of petty crimes, instead of being prosecuted, offenders receive a police caution this is an official warning intended to: deter first-time offenders from re-offending, i.e. committing the act another time remove the necessity of a court appearance deal quickly with less serious offenders this is not a conviction, but results in a criminal record – may be considered in future trials as evidence of bad character

The Right to Silence the defendant has a right not to say anything, both in the police station and at trial since the entry into force of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, using the right to silence may be brought up in the court, i.e. the silence can be taken as an indicator of possible guilt on the part of the defendant

Disclosure the requirement to disclose all evidence and defence/prosecution materials to the other party in the proceedings “It is a fundamental aspect of the right to a fair trial that criminal proceedings (...) should be adversarial and that there should be equality of arms between the prosecution and defence.“ (Rowe v UK)

Disclosure however, the European Court of Human Rights warned that “entitlement to disclosure of relevant evidence is not an absolute right” three factors that justify withholding of evidence: national security protection of witnesses preserving secrecy in police investigations

Categories of criminal offence There are three categories of criminal offence in the UK: Summary offences (or petty crimes) least serious criminal offences; triable in magistrates’ courts; jury trial not available Indictible offences most serious offences, triable in the Crown Court; more severe penalties are available: trial by jury Triable either way criminal offences triable either in magistrates’ court or in the Crown Court

Criminal proceedings cases are brought before a magistrate’s court The defendant enters a plea If he pleads not guilty the court evaluates the case and may proceed to trial and sentence decide that the matter is too complex or serious for their jurisdiction

Criminal proceedings if the case is found to be more serious, it is committed to the Crown Court, where more severe penalties are available, as well as a jury trial A case can be committed to the Crown Court: for trial only for sentencing after a conviction in the magistrates’ court

Summary offences 95% of criminal cases are categorized as summary offences and dealt with by magistrates’ courts these offences include: traffic violations, drunk and disorderly behaviour, assaults, minor criminal damage cases, cases prosecuted by government departments or agencies if the defendant pleads guilty upon being charged, court appearance is avoided

Triable either way these offences include theft, drug offences, some acts of violence against the person the defendant given the option to select the mode of trial – summary trial or trial on indictment in the Crown Court (before a jury) they must be well informed of the procedures and possible penalties for each of the modes the court may, on the other hand, deem the case too complex or serious and refer it to the Crown Court, seeing as more severe penalties are available there

Indictable offences serious offences, such as rape, murder, fraud etc. trial by indictment – the Crown Court – before a jury before the jury is sworn in the judge has to assess whether the evidence is sufficient for a possible conviction by jury it is possible that the judge dismisses the case due to insufficient or inadmissible evidence if a ‘not guilty’ plea is entered, and the evidence is considered reliable, the case proceeds to trial

Indictable offences – trial by jury a jury of 12 is sworn in after cross-examination, the judge sums up the evidence and the facts of the case to the jury and the jury retires unanimous verdict – no longer required, but instead a majority of 10 out of 12 jurors if the jury convicts, the judge proceeds to sentence

Reaching a verdict Possible verdicts: conviction (v. to convict) finding the defendant guilty acquittal (v. to acquit) finding the defendant not guilty

Available sentences a discharge (conviction without punishment) a fine a community service order (doing unpaid work, receiving treatment for addictions, rehabilitation programmes, supervision) a custodial (prison) sentence a suspended prison sentence (probation) - prison sentence activated only if the convict reoffends within a certain period of time

Triable either way – pros Maximum prison sentence: 6 months for one offence, 12 months total Maximum fine: £5,000 Juries find defendants not guilty more often than magistrates Harder to convince 10 jurors of guilt beyond reasonable doubt than 1-3 magistrates Magistrate’s court Crown Court

Thank you for your attention!