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COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - LONG TITLE

An Act to provide for the payment of costs in certain criminal
proceedings; to repeal certain obsolete or unnecessary enactments; and
for matters connected therewith.
[11th June 1968]
Expenses of prosecution.

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 1

1.(1) Where any criminal proceedings are instituted by or on behalf
of, or taken over by, the Attorney General, or are instituted by a
constable, or by or on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs (in
this Act referred to as "the Ministry"), the costs of the
prosecution of such proceedings (including any costs incurred in
connection with any matter preliminary or incidental to, and with
any appeal from, those proceedings) shall, subject to subsection (3),
be defrayed in the first instance by the Ministry.

(2) Except in the case of proceedings to which subsection (1)
applies, the costs of the prosecution of any criminal proceedings
(including any costs incurred in connection with any matter
preliminary or incidental to, and with any appeal from, those
proceedings) shall, subject to subsection (3), be defrayed in the
first instance by the prosecutor.

(3) The costs to be defrayed by the Ministry under subsection (1)
and, where the prosecutor is any... department of the Government of
Northern Ireland, the costs to be defrayed by that department under
subsection (2) shall be at such rates or of such amounts as may
be generally or specially approved by the Ministry of Finance.

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 2
Costs of prosecution in cases of conviction.

2.(1) The court by or before which any person is convicted of any
offence may, in addition to any other order which it may make on
or in consequence of such conviction, order, subject to rules made
pursuant to section 7, that person to pay

(a)where the proceedings have been instituted by or on behalf of,
or taken over by, the Attorney General, or have been instituted by
a constable, or by or on behalf of the Ministry, to the Ministry;
and

(b)in any other case, to the prosecutor;

(2) Any order under this section shall be enforceable

(a)if made by a magistrates' court, in the same manner as any
other sum adjudged to be paid by a conviction of that court; or

(b)if made by any other court

(i)in any case where the prosecutor is a private prosecutor, in the
same manner as an order under section 3 for the payment by a
private prosecutor of the costs of the defence; and

(ii)in any other case, in the same manner as any fine which has
been or might have been imposed, in respect of the offence for
which the person has been convicted, by the court making the order.

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 3
Costs of defence in cases of acquittal, dismissal or discharge.

3.(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and of section 6,
any court before which a person is prosecuted or tried (including a
magistrates' court conducting the preliminary investigation of an
indictable offence), if

(a)the accused is acquitted; or

(b)the charge is dismissed, withdrawn or struck out; or

(c)in the case of a magistrates' court conducting the preliminary
investigation of an indictable offence, the accused is discharged;

(i)where the proceedings have been instituted by or on behalf of,
or taken over by, the Attorney General, or have been instituted by
a constable, or by or on behalf of the Ministry, order the
Ministry; and

(ii)in any other case, order the prosecutor;

(2) Where a person committed for trial is not subsequently tried,
the court to which he is committed shall have the same power to
order payment of costs under this Act as if the accused had been
tried and acquitted.

(3) The costs of the defence mentioned in subsection (1) shall,
subject to subsection (4) and to rules pursuant to section 7, be
such sums as appear to the court reasonably sufficient to compensate
the accused for the expenses properly incurred by him in carrying
on the defence (including, in the case of a trial, any proceedings
preliminary or incidental to such trial) and to compensate any
witness for the defence for the expense, trouble or loss of time
properly incurred in, or incidental to, his attendance to give
evidence.

(4) Where an appellant is retried by virtue of an order under
[section 6 of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980] and
is acquitted on the retrial, the costs of the defence mentioned in
subsection (1) shall include

(a)any costs which could have been ordered to be paid under this
section by the court by which he was originally tried if he had
been acquitted at the original trial; and

(b)if no order was made under section 4(2) of this Act or under
[section 41(2) of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980]
in respect of his expenses on appeal, any sums for the payment of
which such an order could have been made.

(5) Notwithstanding that the court makes no order under subsection
(1) for the payment of the costs of the defence, it may, subject
to section 6, order the payment by the Ministry or the prosecutor,
as the case may require, of such sums as, subject to rules made
pursuant to section 7, appear to the court reasonably sufficient to
compensate any witness for the defence for the expense, trouble or
loss of time properly incurred in, or incidental to, his attendance
to give evidence.

(6) Unless the court otherwise directs, no sum shall be payable in
pursuance of an order under this section to, or in respect of, any
witness for the defence who is a witness to character only.

(7) Where a court orders, under this section, payment of the costs
of the defence, the order shall be enforceable

(a)where the prosecutor is a private prosecutor

(i)if the court is a magistrates' court, in the same manner as an
order made by a magistrates' court in respect of a civil debt; or

Sub-para.(ii) rep. by 1978 c.23 s.122(2) sch.7 Pt.II

<(iii)in any other case, in the same manner as an order for the payment of costs made by the High Court in a civil case; or

(b)if the prosecutor is not a private prosecutor, in the same
manner as is provided by section 25 of the Crown Proceedings Act
1947 for the payment of costs in civil proceedings.

(8) In this section, "witness" means a person properly attending to
give evidence, whether or not he gives evidence; and a person
called to give evidence at the instance of the court may, whether
or not he is a witness for the defence, be made the subject of
an order under subsection (5).

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 4
Costs awarded by Court of Appeal.

4.(1) The [Court of Appeal] may, when it dismisses an appeal or
application for leave to appeal, order, subject to rules made
pursuant to section 7, the appellant to pay to the Ministry the
whole or any part of the costs of the appeal or application,
including any expenses payable by the Ministry by virtue of [section
28(2) of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980], and to
pay the cost of any transcript of a record of proceedings made in
accordance with rules of court under [section 21] of that Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the said [section 28(2)] but subject to
section 6 of this Act, the [Court of Appeal] may, when it allows
an appeal against conviction, including an appeal against a finding
of not guilty on the ground of insanity, order the Ministry to pay
to the appellant the whole or any part of the costs of the
appellant.

(3) The costs of the appellant mentioned in subsection (2) shall,
subject to rules made pursuant to section 7, be such sums as
appear to the Court reasonably sufficient to compensate the appellant
for any expenses properly incurred in the prosecution of his appeal
(including any proceedings preliminary or incidental to such appeal)
and in carrying on his defence at the court of trial, including
any proceedings preliminary or incidental to such trial.

(4) Where the [Court of Appeal] orders the payment of costs under
this section, the order shall be enforceable in the same manner as
an order for the payment of costs made by the High Court in a
civil case but subject, in the case of costs payable by the
Ministry, to section 25 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947.[

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 4A
Costs in certain proceedings in High Court or Court of Appeal.

4A. Where an order for the payment of costs is made in any
criminal cause by the High Court or the Court of Appeal, not being
an order under section 2 or 3, the order shall be enforceable in
the same manner as an order for the payment of costs made by the
High Court in a civil case, but subject to section 25 of the
Crown Proceedings Act 1947 where that section is applicable.]

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 5
1980 NI 3

5.(1) A county court, when exercising, in criminal appeals, the
jurisdiction conferred on it by [Part IV of the County Courts
(Northern Ireland) Order 1980], may

(a)when it dismisses an appeal, order, subject to rules made
pursuant to section 7, the appellant to pay to the respondent the
whole or any part of the costs of the appeal; or

(b)when it allows an appeal against conviction, order, subject to
section 6, the respondent to pay to the appellant the whole or any
part of the costs of the appellant.

(2) The costs of the appellant mentioned in subsection (1)(b) shall,
subject to rules made pursuant to section 7, be such sums as
appear to the county court reasonably sufficient to compensate the
appellant for any expenses properly incurred in the prosecution of
his appeal (including any proceedings preliminary or incidental to
such an appeal) and in carrying on his defence at the magistrates'
court, including any proceedings preliminary or incidental to the
proceedings in that court.

(3) Notwithstanding that the court makes no order under subsection
(1)(b) for the payment of the costs of the appellant, it may,
subject to section 6, order the payment by the respondent of such
sums as, subject to rules made pursuant to section 7, appear to
the county court reasonably sufficient to compensate any person
properly attending to give evidence for the appellant, or at the
instance of the court, on an appeal against conviction to that
court, or in proceedings preliminary or incidental to such appeal,
whether or not he gives evidence, for the expense, trouble or loss
of time properly incurred in, or incidental to, his attendance.

(4) Where, under this section, a county court orders the payment of
costs by

(a)the person who has appealed against the conviction, the order
shall be enforceable in the same manner as a sum adjudged to be
paid by a conviction of a magistrates' court;

(b)a prosecutor who is a private prosecutor, the order shall be
enforceable in the same manner as an order made by a magistrates'
court in respect of a civil debt;

(c)a prosecutor who is not a private prosecutor, the order shall be
enforceable in the same manner as is provided by section 25 of the
Crown Proceedings Act 1947 for the payment of costs in civil
proceedings.[

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 5A
Effect of costs of legal aid.

5A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act,
where in any criminal proceedings an interpreter is required because
of a defendant's lack of English, the expenses properly incurred on
his employment shall, in accordance with rules made pursuant to
section 7, be defrayed by the Ministry.]

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 6
1981 NI 8

6. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in sections 3,
4 and 5, where any costs of a defence or appeal are defrayable
under [Part III of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern
Ireland) Order 1981] or under [section 28(2) of the Criminal Appeal
(Northern Ireland) Act 1980]

(a)no order shall be made under section 3(1) or (5), 4(2) or
5(1)(b) or (3) in favour of the defendant or appellant; and

(b)the appropriate court may, if the costs would, had any order
been made under section 3(1) or 5(1)(b), have been payable to the
defendant or appellant, as the case may be, by any person other
than the Ministry or any... department of the Government of Northern
Ireland, order the prosecutor or the respondent, as the case may
be, to pay to the Ministry the whole or any part of the costs of
the defence or appeal defrayable by the Ministry under the said
[Order of 1981].[

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 7
Saving.

7. Rules of court, Crown Court rules, county court rules and
magistrates' courts rules may provide for the rates or scales of
payment [or the taxation] of costs under sections 2 to 5 in so
far as those sections relate to costs in the Court of Appeal, the
Crown Court, county courts and magistrates' courts respectively.]

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 8
Financial provisions.

8. Nothing in this Act shall affect any other statutory provision
requiring the payment of the costs of the prosecution or defence,
or of an appeal, in respect of any offence, out of any assets,
moneys or fund, or by any person other than the Ministry or the
prosecutor, defendant, appellant or respondent, as the case may be.

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 9
Interpretation.

9. Any sum which is to be defrayed or paid

(a)by the Ministry... under this Act; or

Para.(b) rep. by 1980 c.47 s.51(2) sch.5

1954 c.33

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 10

10.(1) In this Act

"constable" means any member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary acting
as such...;

"the Ministry" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1);

"private prosecutor" means a prosecutor in any prosecution other than
a prosecution instituted by or on behalf of, or taken over by, the
Attorney General, or instituted by a constable, or by or on behalf
of a department of the Government of Northern Ireland or of the
United Kingdom;

"prosecutor" means the person by or on whose behalf the criminal
proceedings were instituted;

"statutory provision" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f)
of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

(2) Without prejudice to the definition of "costs" in section 46(2)
of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954, references in this
Act to costs paid or defrayed, or ordered to be paid or defrayed,
by the Ministry, or by a prosecutor, defendant, appellant or
respondent, as the case may be, under this Act shall be construed
as including references to any sums so paid or defrayed, or ordered
to be paid or defrayed, as compensation to, or expenses of, a
witness or other person or as counsel's or solicitor's fees.

S.11, with Schedule, effects repeals

COSTS IN CRIMINAL CASES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1968 - SECT 12

12.(1) This Act may be cited as the Costs in Criminal Cases Act
(Northern Ireland) 1968.

(2) Commencement

ScheduleRepeals