Legalize / United Kingdom / Statutory-Instrument

The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025

Type Statutory-Instrument

Publication 2025-07-15

State In force

Department King's Printer of Acts of Parliament

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API PDF

Made: 15th July 2025

Laid before Parliament: 22nd July 2025

Coming into force: 6th October 2025

These Rules may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 and shall come into force on 6thOctober 2025.

PART 1 — THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE

*Contents of this Part*

The overriding objective	rule 1.1
The duty of the participants in a criminal case	rule 1.2
The application by the court of the overriding objective	rule 1.3

The overriding objective

1.1

(1) The overriding objective of this procedural code is that criminal cases be dealt with justly.

(2) Dealing with a criminal case justly includes―

(a) acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty;

(b) treating all participants with politeness and respect;

(d) recognising the rights of a defendant, particularly those under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights;

(e) respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors and keeping them informed of the progress of the case;

(f) dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously;

(g) ensuring that appropriate information is available to the court when bail and sentence are considered; and

(h) dealing with the case in ways that take into account―

(i) the gravity of the offence alleged,

(ii) the complexity of what is in issue,

(iii) the severity of the consequences for the defendant and others affected, and

(iv) the needs of other cases.

The duty of the participants in a criminal case

1.2

(1) Each participant, in the conduct of each case, must―

(a) prepare and conduct the case in accordance with the overriding objective;

(b) comply with these Rules, practice directions and directions made by the court; and

(c) at once inform the court and all parties of any significant failure (whether or not that participant is responsible for that failure) to take any procedural step required by these Rules, any practice direction or any direction of the court. A failure is significant if it might hinder the court in furthering the overriding objective.

(2) Anyone involved in any way with a criminal case is a participant in its conduct for the purposes of this rule.

The application by the court of the overriding objective

1.3

The court must further the overriding objective in particular when―

(a) exercising any power given to it by legislation (including these Rules);

(b) applying any practice direction; or

PART 2 — UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE RULES; POWERS AND DUTIES OF COURT OFFICERS AND JUSTICES’ LEGAL ADVISERS

Contents of this Part

Understanding and applying the Rules
When the Rules apply	rule 2.1
Definitions	rule 2.2
References to Acts of Parliament and to Statutory Instruments	rule 2.3

Powers of authorised court officers
Exercise of court’s functions by authorised court officers: general rules	rule 2.4
Exercise of functions of the Court of Appeal	rule 2.5
Exercise of functions of the High Court	rule 2.6
Exercise of functions of the Crown Court	rule 2.7
Exercise of functions of magistrates’ courts	rule 2.8
Exercise of functions of a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) in extradition cases	rule 2.9
Court’s power to extend time under rule 2.6 or rule 2.7	rule 2.10

Powers of court officers to take statutory declarations
Taking of statutory declarations by court officers	rule 2.11

Justices’ legal advisers
Duties of justices’ legal adviser	rule 2.12

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE RULES

When the Rules apply

2.1

(1) In general, Criminal Procedure Rules apply―

(a) in all criminal cases in magistrates’ courts and in the Crown Court;

(b) in extradition cases in the High Court; and

(2) If a rule applies only in one or some of those courts, the rule makes that clear.

(3) These Rules apply on and after 6th October 2025 but unless the court otherwise directs, they do not affect a right or duty existing under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020[^f00040].

[Note. The rules replaced by the first Criminal Procedure Rules (the Criminal Procedure Rules 2005[^f00041]) were revoked when those Rules came into force by provisions of the Courts Act 2003, the Courts Act 2003 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2004[^f00042]and the Courts Act 2003 (Commencement No. 6 and Savings) Order 2004[^f00043]. The first Criminal Procedure Rules reproduced the substance of all the rules they replaced.]

Definitions

2.2

(1) In these Rules, unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant:

‘advocate’ means a person who is entitled to exercise a right of audience in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007[^f00044];

‘authorised court officer’ has the meaning given by rule 2.4;

‘business day’ means any day except Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday or a bank holiday;

‘court’ means a tribunal with jurisdiction over criminal cases. It includes a judge, recorder, District Judge (Magistrates’ Court), lay justice and, when exercising their judicial powers, the Registrar of Criminal Appeals and an authorised court officer;

‘court officer’ means the appropriate member of the staff of a court;

‘justices’ legal adviser’ means a person authorised under section 28 of the Courts Act 2003[^f00045] to give advice about law to justices of the peace;

‘legal representative’ means:the person for the time being named as a party’s representative in any legal aid representation order made under section 16 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012[^f00046], orsubject to that, the person named as a party’s representative in any notice for the time being given under rule 46.2 (Notice of appointment, etc. of legal representative: general rules), provided that person is entitled to conduct litigation in the court under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007;

‘live link’ means a live audio link or a live video link and:‘live audio link’ means a live telephone link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can hear, and be heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person,‘live video link’ means a live television link or other arrangement by which a person taking part in a hearing can see and hear, and be seen and heard by, everyone else who is taking part and who is not in the same place as that person;

‘live link direction’ means a direction that:under section 51(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003[^f00047] requires or permits a person to take part through a live audio link or a live video link in the proceedings listed in section 51(3) of that Act, orunder section 206A of the Extradition Act 2003[^f00048] requires a person to take part through a live link in a hearing in proceedings under Part 1 or Part 2 of that Act;

‘Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Criminal Practice Directions, as amended, and ‘Criminal Costs Practice Direction’ means the Lord Chief Justice’s Practice Direction (Costs in Criminal Proceedings), as amended;

‘public interest ruling’ means a ruling about whether it is in the public interest to disclose prosecution material under sections 3(6), 7A(8) or 8(5) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996[^f00049]; and

‘Registrar’ means the Registrar of Criminal Appeals or a court officer exercising a function of the Registrar.

(2) Special definitions and definitions of some other expressions are in the rules in which they apply.

...

References to legislation, including these Rules

2.3

(1) In these Rules, where a rule refers to an Act of Parliament or to subordinate legislation by title and year, subsequent references to that Act or to that legislation in the rule are shortened: so, for example, after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996[^f00050] that Act is called ‘the 1996 Act’; and after a reference to the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Defence Disclosure Time Limits) Regulations 2011[^f00051] those Regulations are called ‘the 2011 Regulations’.

(2) In the courts in which these Rules apply―

(a) unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant, a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules, without reference to a year, is a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules in force at the date on which the event concerned occurs or occurred;

(b) a reference to the Criminal Procedure Rules may be abbreviated to ‘CrimPR’; and

(c) a reference to a Part or rule in the Criminal Procedure Rules may be abbreviated to, for example, ‘CrimPR Part 3’ or ‘CrimPR 3.5’.

POWERS OF AUTHORISED COURT OFFICERS

Exercise of court’s functions by authorised court officers: general rules

2.4

(1) This rule and rules 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9 provide for the exercise of relevant judicial functions within the meaning of section 67A of the Courts Act 2003[^f00052]―

(a) in a court in which these Rules apply; and

(b) by a person authorised for the purpose by the Lord Chief Justice under section 67B of that Act[^f00053].

(2) In this rule and in rules 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9―

(a) ‘authorised court officer’ means any such person; and

(b) a reference to an authorised court officer who is legally qualified is a reference to one who has such qualifications as are for the time being prescribed by regulations made under section 28(3) of the Courts Act 2003.

(3) No court officer may―

(a) authorise a person’s committal to prison;

(b) authorise a person’s arrest (but that exclusion does not apply to the issue of a warrant of arrest, whether or not endorsed for bail, to secure that a person attends court proceedings relating to an offence of which the person has been accused or convicted in a case in which no objection is made by or on behalf of that person to the issue of the warrant);

(d) adjudicate on guilt, or on the act or omission with which a defendant is charged, except to the extent of―

(i) acquitting a defendant against whom the prosecutor offers no evidence,

(ii) convicting a defendant who pleads guilty, or

(iii) giving a prosecutor permission to withdraw a case;

(e) determine the admissibility of evidence;

(f) set ground rules for the conduct of questioning where rule 3.8(6), (7) (directions for the appropriate treatment and questioning of a witness or the defendant) applies;

(g) make findings of fact for the purpose of sentence, defer or pass sentence, impose a penalty or commit a defendant to the Crown Court for sentence;

(h) make an order for a party or other person to pay costs, unless that party or person agrees;

(i) make any other order consequent upon acquittal, conviction or a finding that the accused did the act or made the omission charged, except to the extent that rule 2.8 allows;

(j) vary, discharge, remit, remove, revoke, review or suspend a sentence, penalty or other order consequent on acquittal or conviction, except to the extent that rule 2.8 allows;

(k) order the search, confiscation, restraint, detention or seizure of property except to the extent that rule 2.8 allows;

(l) determine an appeal or reference to an appeal court, or an application for permission to appeal or refer, except to the extent that rule 2.6 allows; or

(m) determine an allegation of contempt of court.

(4) An authorised court officer may exercise a relevant judicial function for which rule 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9 provides―

(a) only subject to the same conditions as apply to its exercise by the court or person whose function it is; and

(b) where a party affected by the exercise of that function is entitled to make representations before its exercise, only if each such party has had a reasonable opportunity to make such representations―

(i) in writing, or

(ii) at a hearing (whether or not that party in fact attends).

(5) Unless the context makes it clear that something different is meant, provision in rule 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9 permitting the exercise of a relevant judicial function by an authorised court officer includes a power to decline to exercise that function.

[Note. Under section 67A of the Courts Act 2003, ‘relevant judicial function’ means a function of a court to which the general duty of the Lord Chancellor under section 1 of that Act applies and a judicial function of a person holding an office that entitles the person to exercise functions of such a court, but does not include in a court in which Criminal Procedure Rules apply―

(a) any function so far as its exercise involves authorising a person’s committal to prison; or

(b) any function so far as its exercise involves authorising a person’s arrest, except the issue of a warrant of arrest (whether or not endorsed for bail) to secure that a person attends court proceedings relating to an offence of which the person has been accused or convicted in a case in which no objection is made by or on behalf of that person to the issue of the warrant.

Exercise of functions of the Court of Appeal

2.5

(1) This rule provides for the exercise by an authorised court officer of relevant judicialfunctions of—

(a) the criminal division of the Court of Appeal; and

(b) the Registrar of Criminal Appeals.

(2) Subject to rule 2.4, an authorised court officer may exercise—

(a) any function of the criminal division of the Court of Appeal that may be exercised by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals; and

(b) any other judicial function of the Registrar.

(3) Where an authorised court officer exercises a function of the court—

(a) the same provision as that made by section 31A(4) or section 31C(3), as the case may be, of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968[^f00054] applies as if that function had been exercised by the Registrar; and

(b) rule 36.5 (Renewing an application refused by a judge or the Registrar) applies.

[Note. See also rule 2.4, which makes general rules about the exercise of judicial functions by authorised court officers.

Exercise of functions of the High Court

2.6

(1) This rule provides for the exercise by an authorised court officer of relevant judicialfunctions of the High Court in relation to its jurisdiction under the Extradition Act 2003[^f00057].

(2) An authorised court officer may exercise any such function of the High Court to which the rules in Section 3 of Part 50 apply (Extradition; Appeal to the High Court), subject to—

(a) rule 2.4; and

(b) paragraph (3) of this rule.

(3) No court officer may—

(a) grant or withhold bail;

(b) impose or vary a condition of bail; or

unless paragraph (4) applies.

(4) If making a decision to which the parties have agreed in writing, an authorised court officer may—

(a) give or refuse permission to appeal;

(b) determine an appeal;

(d) impose or vary a condition of bail.

(5) Paragraph (6) of this rule—

(a) applies where a party wants a judge to reconsider a decision made by an authorised court officer; but

(b) does not apply where such an officer agrees to postpone the date on which the required period for extradition begins under section 36(3) of the Extradition Act 2003[^f00058].

(6) Such a party must—

(a) apply for such a reconsideration as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event no later than the earlier of—

(i) the next hearing before a judge, or

(ii) the fifth business day after the date on which notice of the decision is served on the applicant;

(b) unless the application is made at a hearing, serve the application on—

(i) the court officer, and

(ii) each other party (if any) affected by the decision; and

(i) specify the decision in issue,

(ii) explain why it is appropriate for the decision to be reconsidered and what decision the applicant thinks would be appropriate, and

(iii) ask for a hearing, if one is wanted, and explain why it is needed.

(7) The judge may determine the application—

(a) at a hearing (which may be in public or private), or without a hearing; and

(b) in the absence of—

(i) the applicant,

(ii) each other party (if any) affected by the decision.

(8) But the judge must not determine the application in the absence of an affected party unless that party has had—

(a) such notice as the nature and urgency of the application permits; and

(b) a reasonable opportunity to make written representations.

[Note. See also—

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