Judges' Rules

Judges' Rules

The Judges' Rules were first issued in 1912 by the judges of the King's Bench to give English police forces guidance on the procedures that they should follow in detaining and questioning suspects. The Home Secretary had requested the judges to explain how an investigation should be conducted to avoid the resulting evidence being ruled inadmissible in court. The rules were intended to halt a divergence in practice that had developed between different police forces, and replaced earlier informal guidance, such as Sir Howard Vincent's "Police Code and Manual of Criminal Law".

The Judges' Rules were not rules of law, but rather rules of practice for the guidance of the police, setting out the kinds of conduct that could cause a judge to exercise discretion to exclude evidence, in the interests of a fair trial. High Court judge Lawrence J explained in "R. v. Voisin" [legal citation| [1918] 1 KB 531] , that:

The rules did not alter the law on admissibility of evidence, but became a code of best practice: it was assumed that statements given by a suspect in accordance with the Rules would be admissible in evidence.

The Rules:
*allowed the police to question any person with a view to finding out whether, or by whom, an offence had been committed
*required the police to give a caution when they had reasonable grounds to suspect that a person had committed an offence
*required a further caution when a person was charged and prohibited questioning afterwards charging save in exceptional circunstances
*required a record of questioning to be kept
*gave guidance on the best way to record a formal written statementThe rules also included further administrative guidance, on access to defence counsel, and on questioning children and foreigners.

The five further rules were added to the original four Rules in 1918, and the rules were further explained in 1934 in a Home Office Circular 536053/23.The Rules were reissued in 1964 as "Practice Note (Judge's Rules)" [legal citation| [1964] 1 WLR 152] , and were replaced by PACE Code C made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

The status of the Judges' Rules in Jamaica was considered by the Privy Council in February 2006 in "Shabadine Peart v. The Queen". [http://www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/Peart%20v%20The%20Queen.rtf]

ee also

*"Miranda v. Arizona"


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Judges' Rules — plural noun Formerly, in English law, a system of rules governing the behaviour of the police towards suspects, eg the cautioning of a person about to be charged • • • Main Entry: ↑judge …   Useful english dictionary

  • judges' rules — in English criminal law a code of behaviour issued for the guidance of the police in the investigation phase, now replaced by a legal regime by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. See right to silence. Collins dictionary of law. W. J.… …   Law dictionary

  • Judges' Rules — plural noun English Law rules regarding the admissibility of an accused s statements as evidence …   English new terms dictionary

  • Judges Guild — is a small game publisher in the business of creating and selling role playing game supplements, periodicals and related material, most notable as one of the leading publishers in the late 1970s and early 1980s of Dungeons Dragons related… …   Wikipedia

  • rules of court — A set of procedural rules adopted by local, state, or federal courts that instruct parties and attorneys what the court s mandatory procedures are about things like the time allowed to file papers, format of documents, filing procedures and fees …   Law dictionary

  • Rules of snooker — Snooker table, drawn to scale Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a baize covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white …   Wikipedia

  • Judges — Officials in a tournament responsible for upholding the spirit and the rules determined by the sponsor. Charnay and King Renй both refer to the judges as diseurs …   Medieval glossary

  • BET DIN AND JUDGES — (Heb. בֵּית דִּין; lit. house of judgment ). Bet din (pl. battei din) is the term, in rabbinic sources, for a Jewish court of law. In modern times it usually refers to   an ecclesiastical court dealing with religious matters such as divorce, and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Mixed martial arts rules — Most rule sets for mixed martial arts competitions have evolved since the early days of vale tudo. As the knowledge about fighting techniques spread among fighters and spectators, it became clear that the original minimalist rule systems needed… …   Wikipedia

  • Provincial Judges Reference — ! bgcolor= 6699FF | Case opinions |The Provincial Judges Reference [the three formal titles of the decision are Manitoba Provincial Judges Assn. v. Manitoba (Minister of Justice) from the Manitoba appeal, R. v. Campbell; R. v. Ekmecic; R. v.… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”