Citation and Commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (Notice of Transfer) (Amendment) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 1st April 1997.

Amendment of 1992 Regulations

2.-(1) This regulation shall have effect in the same way as section 65 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996(2) (abolition of witness orders) has effect.

(2) The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (Notice of Transfer) Regulations 1992(3) shall be amended as follows-

(a)in Form 1 in the Schedule paragraph 8, together with the heading "SCHEDULE OF PROPOSED WITNESSES" at the end of the Form, shall be omitted;

(b)in Form 2 in the Schedule for paragraph 5 there shall be substituted the following paragraph-

"5. I enclose a list of witnesses-

(a)indicating those whom the Crown proposes to call to give oral evidence at your trial; and

(b)indicating those whose attendance at your trial the Crown considers unnecessary on the ground that their evidence is unlikely to be required or unlikely to be disputed;

together with copies of those statements or other documents outlining the evidence of those witnesses."

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (Notice of Transfer) Regulations 1992 concerning the special procedures for the transfer to the Crown Court of certain cases involving children. They make changes to the form of notice of transfer and the form of notice to the defendant to take account of the abolition of witness orders following the amendments to the general nature of committal proceedings.