Conviction withoiut required Consent was Unsafe
Whether a conviction for an offence which requires the consent of the Attorney General before the proceedings are instituted can stand when no such consent was obtained.
Held: The appellant’s arguments were well-founded and his conviction on count 5 could not be regarded as safe: ‘as a matter of ordinary language, section 27(1) is drafted in imperative terms, requiring compliance. Further, the prohibition is expressly geared to ‘institution’ of proceedings.’
Consent now having been given, the Court issued a writ of venire de novo.
Judges:
The Lord Burnett of Maldon, LCJ
Dame Victoria Sharp, P Qbd
Lord Justice Fulford, Vp Cacd
Mr Justice Swift
Sir Nigel Davis
Citations:
[2022] EWCA Crim 736
Links:
Statutes:
Public Order Act 1986 27(1), Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 25
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Angel CACD 1968
The failure to obtain the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions to a prosecution under section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 rendered the whole of the trial, including the committal proceedings, a complete nullity. . .
Cited – Regina v Pearce CACD 1980
The lack of a required consent by the Attorney General, under section 4(3) of the 1977 Act led to the quashing of the conviction. . .
Cited – Sekhon, etc v Regina CACD 16-Dec-2002
The defendants appealed against confiscation orders on the basis that in various ways, the Crown had failed to comply with procedural requirements.
Held: The courts must remember the importance of such procedures in the fight against crime, . .
Cited – Regina v Soneji and Bullen HL 21-Jul-2005
The defendants had had confiscation orders made against them. They had appealed on the basis that the orders were made more than six months after sentence. The prosecutor now appealed saying that the fact that the order were not timely did not . .
Cited – Clarke, Regina v; Regina v McDaid HL 6-Feb-2008
An indictment had not been signed despite a clear statutory provision that it should be. The defects were claimed to have been cured by amendment before sentence.
Held: The convictions failed. Sections 1(1) and 2(1) of the 1933 Act which . .
Cited – Ashton , Regina v; Regina v Draz; Regina v O’Reilly CACD 5-Apr-2006
The court considered three appeals where there had been a procedural irregularity, and where the judge had taken some step to overcome that irregularity. In two cases the Crown Court judge had reconstituted himself as a district judge to correct a . .
Cited – Williams, Regina v CACD 25-Jan-2017
Appeal against conviction for rape, saying that the indictment was a nullity . .
Cited – Welsh (Snr) and 17 Others, Regina v CACD 15-Sep-2015
Applications for extensions of time for making applications for leave to appeal against conviction . .
Cited – Lambert, Regina v CACD 3-Apr-2009
The court considered the test for whether the requirement for the Attorney General’s consent to a prosecution had been obtained, and said: ‘The analysis of the statutory language: . .
there are two questions.
i) When were the proceedings . .
Cited – Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc v Colliers International UK Plc ChD 24-Oct-2012
The failure by the claimant creditors, contrary to the statutory provisions, to obtain the consent of either administrators or court before commencement of proceedings against a company in administration did not invalidate the proceedings. . .
Cited – Barras v Aberdeen Steam Trawling and Fishing Co HL 17-Mar-1933
The court looked at the inference that a statute’s draughtsman could be assumed when using a phrase to rely on a known interpretation of that phrase.
Viscount Buckmaster said: ‘It has long been a well established principle to be applied in the . .
Cited – Stromberg v Regina CACD 22-Mar-2018
The court looked at questions concerning the scope, availability and procedure surrounding the issue of a writ of venire de novo. ‘The issue we have to resolve is whether an application for a writ or order of venire do novo must be made in the . .
Cited – Seal v Chief Constable of South Wales Police HL 4-Jul-2007
The claimant had sought to bring proceedings against the respondent, but as a mental patient subject to the 1983 Act, had been obliged by the section first to obtain consent. The parties disputed whether the failure was a procedural or substantial . .
Cited – Farrell v Alexander HL 24-Jun-1976
The House considered the construction of a consolidation Act.
Held: It is ordinarily both unnecessary and undesirable to construe a consolidation Act by reference to statutory antecedents, but it is permissible to do so in a case where the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 30 June 2022; Ref: scu.678720
