Prosecutions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of delivering Single Justice Procedure prosecution notices by (a) signed and (b) tracked post to ensure receipt.
Answered by Heidi Alexander
The Single Justice Procedure (SJP) Notice is a prosecutor notice which is issued and served by the prosecutor.
The rules governing service of SJP Notices is covered by Rule 4 of the Criminal Procedure Rules - The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 (legislation.gov.uk).
There is no requirement for an SJP Notice to be sent by either signed for or tracked post and to do so would be a decision for the prosecutor.
If a defendant does not know about the case until after it has finished, they can make a statutory declaration to that effect, which will start the proceedings again from the beginning.
This Government is determined to ensure the SJP operates fairly and transparently. We are currently reviewing potential changes to the Procedure and will consider legislative reform if necessary.
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