HC Deb 26 April 1967 vol 745 cc1618-9

An examining justice who signs a certificate authenticating one or more depositions or statements tendered under section 2 of this Act shall be treated for the purposes of section 13(3)(c) of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 (requirement that depositions read at the trial must have been signed by an examining justice) as signing that deposition or statement or each of those depositions and statements.—[Mr. Taverne.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

3.50 p.m.

The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Dick Taverne)

I beg to move, That the Clause be read a Second time.

Mr. Speaker

I understand that with this new Clause we shall also discuss Amendment No. 12, in page 5, line 27, to leave out Clause 6.

Mr. Taverne

The purpose of the new Clause is to give better effect to the original Clause 6. It is concerned with the authentication of depositions and written statements when they are allowed to be read as evidence at a trial on indictment. The way in which depositions are dealt with on committal proceedings and transmitted to the court of trial is regulated by Magistrates' Courts' Rules, which provide a form (known as the jurat), which is attached to the depositions and signed by the examining justice, who thereby certifies that he has taken the depositions of the several deponents and thus does not have to sign each deposition, let alone each page, which could take a considerable time.

Under Section 13(3,c) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1925, depositions may in certain circumstances be read at the trial, in place of the oral evidence of the deponent, but only if signed by an examining justice. It is clearly right that there should be a uniform method of authenticating the proper taking of depositions and because there has been some uncertainty about what could happen in cases under the 1925 Act, Clause 6 was inserted in the Bill.

However, there were representations by the justices' clerks that the original Clause did not quite achieve this object, because it referred to the signing of the last of several depositions, which might not cover the signing of a separate certificate—the jurat—covering all the depositions. The new Clause is designed to make this clear.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.