1. English for Lawyers 1 Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević
G10, room 6/I, Tue 11:30-12:30
Session 8

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

3. Revision of the last session
Civil Procedure in England

4. 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?

5. Criminal Procedure in the UK
Unit 10

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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)

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

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

28. 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

29. 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

30. Thank you for your attention!