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Section 22: Power of Secretary of State to set time limits in relation to preliminary stages of criminal proceedings.

Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 · 1985 c. 23View on legislation.gov.uk

Part III: Miscellaneous

The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision, with respect to any specified preliminary stage of proceedings for an offence, as to the maximum period—

to be allowed to the prosecution to complete that stage;
during which the accused may, while awaiting completion of that stage, be—
in the custody of a magistrates' court; or
in the custody of the Crown Court;

in relation to that offence.

The regulations may, in particular—

be made so as to apply only in relation to proceedings instituted in specified areas, or proceedings of, or against persons of, specified classes or descriptions;
make different provision with respect to proceedings instituted in different areas, or different provision with respect to proceedings of, or against persons of, different classes or descriptions;
make such provision with respect to the procedure to be followed in criminal proceedings as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in consequence of any other provision of the regulations;
provide for the Magistrates' Court Act 1980 and the Bail Act 1976 to apply in relation to cases to which custody or overall time limits apply subject to such modifications as may be specified (being modifications which the Secretary of State considers necessary in consequence of any provision made by the regulations); and
make such transitional provision in relation to proceedings instituted before the commencement of any provision of the regulations as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

The appropriate court may, at any time before the expiry of a time limit imposed by the regulations, extend, or further extend, that limit; but the court shall not do so unless it is satisfied—

that the need for the extension is due to—
the illness or absence of the accused, a necessary witness, a judge or a magistrate;
a postponement which is occasioned by the ordering by the court of separate trials in the case of two or more accused or two or more offences; or
some other good and sufficient cause; and
that the prosecution has acted with all due diligence and expedition.

Where, in relation to any proceedings for an offence, an overall time limit has expired before the completion of the stage of the proceedings to which the limit applies, the appropriate court shall stay the proceedings.

Where—

a person escapes from the custody of a magistrates' court or the Crown Court before the expiry of a custody time limit which applies in his case; or
a person who has been released on bail in consequence of the expiry of a custody time limit—
fails to surrender himself into the custody of the court at the appointed time; or
is arrested by a constable on a ground mentioned in section 7(3)(b) of the Bail Act 1976 (breach, or likely breach, of conditions of bail);

the regulations shall, so far as they provide for any custody time limit in relation to the preliminary stage in question, be disregarded.

Subsection (6A) below applies where—

a person escapes from the custody of a magistrates' court or the Crown Court; or
a person who has been released on bail fails to surrender himself into the custody of the court at the appointed time;

and is accordingly unlawfully at large for any period.

The following, namely—

the period for which the person is unlawfully at large; and
such additional period (if any) as the appropriate court may direct, having regard to the disruption of the prosecution occasioned by—
the person's escape or failure to surrender; and
the length of the period mentioned in paragraph (a) above,

shall be disregarded, so far as the offence in question is concerned, for the purposes of the overall time limit which applies in his case in relation to the stage which the proceedings have reached at the time of the escape or, as the case may be, at the appointed time.

Any period during which proceedings for an offence are adjourned pending the determination of an appeal under Part 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 shall be disregarded, so far as the offence is concerned, for the purposes of the overall time limit and the custody time limit which applies to the stage which the proceedings have reached when they are adjourned.

Where a magistrates' court decides to extend, or further extend, a custody or overall time limit, or to give a direction under subsection (6A) above, the accused may appeal against the decision to the Crown Court.

Where a magistrates' court refuses to extend, or further extend, a custody or overall time limit , or to give a direction under subsection (6A) above, the prosecution may appeal against the refusal to the Crown Court.

An appeal under subsection (8) above may not be commenced after the expiry of the limit in question; but where such an appeal is commenced before the expiry of the limit the limit shall be deemed not to have expired before the determination or abandonment of the appeal.

Where a person is convicted of an offence in any proceedings, the exercise, in relation to any preliminary stage of those proceedings, of the power conferred by subsection (3) above shall not be called into question in any appeal against that conviction.

In this section—

where the accused has been sent for trial or indicted for the offence, the Crown Court; and
in any other case, the magistrates' court specified in the summons or warrant in question or, where the accused has already appeared or been brought before a magistrates' court, a magistrates' court for the same area;

  • "appropriate court " means—

  • "custody " includes local authority accommodation or youth detention accommodation to which a person is remanded under section 91 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 , and references to a person being committed to custody shall be construed accordingly;

  • "custody of the Crown Court" includes custody to which a person is committed in pursuance of—

    (a)section 43A of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (magistrates' court dealing with a person brought before it following his arrest in pursuance of a warrant issued by the Crown Court); or

    (b)section 52 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (provisions supplementing section 51);

  • "custody of a magistrates' court " means custody to which a person is committed in pursuance of section 128 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (remand);

  • "custody time limit " means a time limit imposed by regulations made under subsection (1)(b) above or, where any such limit has been extended by a court under subsection (3) above, the limit as so extended;

  • "preliminary stage ", in relation to any proceedings, does not include any stage after the start of the trial (within the meaning given by subsections (11A) and (11B) below);

  • "overall time limit " means a time limit imposed by regulations made under subsection (1)(a) above or, where any such limit has been extended by a court under subsection (3) above, the limit as so extended; and

  • "specified " means specified in the regulations.

For the purposes of this section, proceedings for an offence shall be taken to begin when the accused is charged with the offence or, as the case may be, an information is laid charging him with the offence.

For the purposes of this section, the start of a trial on indictment shall be taken to occur at the time when a jury is sworn to consider the issue of guilt or fitness to plead or, if the court accepts a plea of guilty before the time when a jury is sworn, when that plea is accepted; but this is subject to section 8 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 and section 30 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (preparatory hearings).

For the purposes of this section, the start of a summary trial shall be taken to occur—

when the court begins to hear evidence for the prosecution at the trial or to consider whether to exercise its power under section 37(3) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (power to make hospital order without convicting the accused), or
if the court accepts a plea of guilty without proceeding as mentioned above, when that plea is accepted.

The references in subsection (11A) above to the time when a jury is sworn include the time when that jury would be sworn but for the making of an order under Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

For the purposes of the application of any custody time limit in relation to a person who is in the custody of a magistrates' court or the Crown Court—

all periods during which he is in the custody of a magistrates' court in respect of the same offence shall be aggregated and treated as a single continuous period; and
all periods during which he is in the custody of the Crown Court in respect of the same offence shall be aggregated and treated similarly.

For the purposes of section 29(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (High Court to have power to make prerogative orders in relation to jurisdiction of Crown Court in matters which do not relate to trial on indictment) the jurisdiction conferred on the Crown Court by this section shall be taken to be part of its jurisdiction in matters other than those relating to trial on indictment.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.