Commencing proceedings

All criminal cases begin in the magistrates' court regardless of the seriousness of the offence. There are, however, a number of ways of commencing criminal proceedings in England and Wales:

•
the defendant may be arrested and charged by the police and brought before a magistrates’ court
•
the prosecution can apply to the magistrates’ court for the issue of a summons (also called ‘laying an information’) requiring the defendant to attend court on a specified date and time
•
a relevant prosecutor may issue a written charge together with a requisition requiring the defendant to attend court on a specified date and time
•
a relevant prosecutor may issue a written charge together with a single justice procedure notice requiring the defendant to indicate a plea and if guilty, consent to the disposal of the case-by-use of the single justice procedure on the papers

Time limits for commencing proceedings

Practice Note: Time limits for commencing criminal proceedings explains the time limits for commencing a criminal prosecution in England and Wales. It explains the time limit for commencing proceedings for summary only offences, the extension of that

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Corporate Crime News

Health and safety prosecution round-up—24 December 2024

A round-up of the latest health and safety prosecutions, including a company fined after an employee suffers serious injuries.

Home Office escalates takedown to address illegal employment across England

The Home Office has significantly ramped up its efforts to combat illegal employment exploitation across England, while holding rogue employers criminally liable for their actions. Immigration Enforcement teams have executed nearly 1,000 raids in London alone; concentrating on industries prone to exploitation, such as: car washes, nail bars, and construction sites.

Eurojust facilitates cross-border investigations targeting diverse criminal activities in 2024

In 2024, Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, supported several significant cross-border investigations targeting various forms of organised crime. Notable operations included the dismantling of a EUR 2 billion money laundering network in February 2024, involving Italian, Latvian, and Lithuanian authorities. In November, a sophisticated fake art operation was uncovered, potentially averting losses of EUR 200 million, with 38 arrests made and over 2,000 forged artworks seized. Other successful interventions included the takedown of online infrastructure used for terrorist propaganda, a large-scale anti-mafia operation resulting in asset freezes worth EUR 50 million, and the issuance of arrest warrants for three Belarusian officials involved in a forced plane landing. Eurojust's coordination efforts also contributed to halting malware attacks that threatened millions of users globally.

Insolvency Service disqualifies former footballer for BBL fraud

The Insolvency Service has banned former professional footballer, Kieron Minto-St.Aimie, as a company director for eight years after deceptively acquiring a covid bounce back loan (BBL) for his sports academy in Brent. Minto-St.Aimie made a fraudulent claim for a £25,000 BBL, by overstating the company's turnover by £60,000, to secure a larger loan than the £10,000 to which the business was entitled.

View Corporate Crime by content type :

News