What is the criminal justice act 2003?
The Criminal Justice Act 2003[1] (c.44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernize many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It amends the law relating to police powers, bail, disclosure, allocation of criminal of fences, prosecution appeals, autrefois acquit (“double jeopardy”), hearsay, bad character evidence, sentencing and release on license. It permits offenses to be tried by a judge sitting alone without a jury in cases where there is a danger of jury-tampering. It also expands the circumstances in which defendants can be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy), when “new and compelling evidence” is introduced.
