The Criminal Justice Act 1948 () is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
.
Overview
It is "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration".
It abolished:
*
penal servitude,
hard labour and prison divisions for
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
(s.1).
*state punishment of
whipping there and in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
(s.2).
*
right of peers to be tried in the House of Lords (s.30).
s. 30
Criminal Justice Act 1948
Other substantive provisions still in force are:
* s. 27, as amended by (in particular) the Children and Young Persons Act 1969
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
, which provides for remand of defendants between 18 and 20 years old to remand centres, and s. 49, which regulates them;
* s. 31(1), which gives English courts extraterritorial jurisdiction in respect of Crown servants committing indictable offence
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...
s abroad while in the course of their duties;
* s. 37, relating to bail on appeal;
* s. 41, which makes certain kinds of evidence admissible via a signed certificate instead of oral submissions;
* s 42, on a procedural rule in cases on indictment;
* s. 66, partly defining "custody";
* s. 70(2), authorizing pensions to be paid notwithstanding disqualification from office under section 2 of the Forfeiture Act 1870 due to conviction for a crime.
Scottish and Northern Irish analogues
Some of its content is mirrored in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 and the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953.
Partial repeal
The act was partially repealed in 1977; it was modernised and recast in Acts including the Criminal Law Acts 1977 and 1997.
See also
*Criminal Justice Act
Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...
*UK labour law
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...
Notes
External links
The Criminal Justice Act 1948
as amended from the National Archives.
The Criminal Justice Act 1948
as originally enacted from the National Archives.
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1948
Criminal law of the United Kingdom
July 1948 events in the United Kingdom