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Criminal Procedure (Committal for Sentence) Act


Published: 1937

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Criminal Procedure (CAP. 118 1
(Committal for Sentence)

CHAPTER 118

THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (COMMITTAL FOR
SENTENCE) ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section

1. Short title.
2. Procedure where accused confess guilt at preliminary

enquiry.
3 . Transmission of record of proceedings.
3 .(2) Indictment.
4. Accused to be brought before Judge to be dealt with.
4.(2) Plea by accused committed for sentence.
5. Withdrawal by accused of consent to his committal for

sentence.
6. Powers of Court and Judge when dealing with com-

mittals for sentence.
7 . Notice by person committed for trial of intention to

plead guilty.
8. Committal for sentence in respect of indictable offences

tried summarily.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Criminal Procedure (CAP. 118 3
(Committal for Sentence)

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
(COMMITTAL FOR SENTENCE)

1411937. (8th December, S.R.0. 2211956.
S.R.O. 4611981.

3111982.

1. This Act may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Short title.
(Committal for Sentence) Act.

2. (1) Except when the charge is one of treason or P;,",";,d~;~,"f,";h
murder, if an accused person in any statement referred to guilt at
in section 56 of the Magistrate's Code of Procedure Act says E;::?
or admits that he is guilty of the charge, then the Magistrate
shall further say to him the words following, or words to Cap. 255.
the like effect:-

" Do you wish the witnesses again to appear to give
"evidence against you at your trial? If you do not, you
"will now be committed for sentence instead of being
"committed for trial".

If the accused, in answer to such question, states that
he does not wish the witnesses again .to appear to give
evidence against him, his statement shall be taken down in
writing and read to him and shall be signed by the Magistrate
and by the accused, if he will, and shall be kept with the
depositions of the witnesses.

(2) The Magistrate may thereupon bind over the
witnesses to attend the trial conditionally upon reasonable
notice being given to them by the Registrar that they are
required so to attend in pursuance of their recognizances.

(3) In any such case as is mentioned in this section,
the Magistrate shall, instead of committing the accused for
trial, order him to be committed for sentence before the High
Court and in the meantime, the Magistrate shall, by his
warrant, commit him to prison to be there safely kept until
the sittings of that Court, or until he is admitted to bail or
delivered by due course of law.

(4) The statement of the accused made under this sec-
tion shall be received in evidence upon its mere production

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

4 CAP. 118) Criminal Procedure
(Committal for Sentence)

without further proof thereof by the Court before which he
is brought for sentence.

Transmission of
record of

3. (1) The Magistrate shall, as soon after such com-
proceedings. mittal as it practicable, transmit the complaint or informa-

tion, depositions, and any statement or confession of the
accused, taken on the hearing of such charge, to the
Registrar, together with a copy of all such documents for
the use of the Director or Public Prosecutions, and the
Registrar shall, as soon as practicable after receiving the
same, deliver them to the Judge and the Director of Public
Prosecutions.

Indictment. (2) The Director of Public Prosecutions shall, as soon
as practicable after receiving a copy of such record of pro-
ceedings at the preliminary enquiry, prefer and file an
indictment against the accused person committed for
sentence.

Accused to be
brought before

4. (1) As soon as conveniently may be after the fil-
Judge to be dealt ing of an indictment against an accused person committed
with. for sentence, the Registrar of the High Court shall issue a

summons to the accused person to appear and if he is in
custody an order to the gaoler to bring the prisoner before
a Judge of the High Court at a time to be f ~ e d by the Judge,
and the Registrar shall notify the Director of Public
Prosecutions accordingly.

plea by accused (2) The accused person shall be called upon to plead
committed for
sentence. to the indictment in the same manner as if he had been com-

mitted for trial, and he may plead, either that he is guilty
of the offence charged in the indictment, or with the consent
of the prosecutor, of any other offence of which he might
be convicted on the indictment.

(3) If the accused person pleads in the High Court that
he is not guilty, or if although he pleads that he is guilty
it appears to the said Court upon the examination of the
depositions of the witnesses that he has not in fact commit-
ted the offence charged in the indictment, or any other
offence, of which he might be convicted on the indictment,
the plea of not guilty shall be entered and the trial is to pro-
ceed as in other cases when that plea is entered, and the

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Criminal Procedure (CAP. 118 5
(Cornrnital for Sentence)

Judge shall postpone the case for trial by a jury at the regular
criminal sessions of the High Court, and may remand the
accused to prison or admit him to bail in the meantime.

(4) A person who has been committed for sentence may
plead autrefois acquit, autrefois convict, pardon, or such special
plea as he would be permitted to plead according to the law
of England for the time being in force, and in such case unless
the accused and the prosecutor and the Judge consent to
the issue being tried by the Judge without a jury, the Judge
shall postpone the case for a trial by a jury as in the preceding
sub-section provided.

5 . (1) A person may at any time before he is brought Withdrawal by
accused o f up for sentence give notice in writing to the Registrar that to his

he desires to withdraw his consent to be committed for committal for
sentence, and in such case the prisoner shall not be taken Sentence.
before the High Court for sentence but shall be brought up
for trial at the regular criminal sessions of the said Court.

(2) The notice shall be filed for record in the Registrar's
office, and the Registrar shall notify the Director of Public
Prosecutions of the withdrawal of the consent to committal
for sentence; and such notice may be put in evidence at the
trial or mention may be made at the trial of the fact that
such notice was given.

6. (1) A Judge of the High Coun when sitting to deal !;;y,";L zA
with persons committed for sentence shall, subject to these dealing with
provisions, possess all the powers, authorities and jurisdiction committds for

sentence.
vested in the High Court with respect to the trial of criminal
cases in the exercise of the ordinary criminal jurisdiction of
the said Court.

(2) The Registrar or the proper officer shall attend
before a Judge in any proceedings respecting persons com-
mitted for sentence, and keep a record thereof in like man-
ner as in other proceedings in the Court.

7. (1) A person committed for trial, whether he is in ~ ~ ; ~ ~ d ~ ~
custody or not, may, if he wishes to plead guilty and be trial o f intention
sentenced prior to the regular Criminal sessions of the Court, plead guilty.

file with the Registrar a notice in writing to that effect; the
notice shall be filed of record in the Registrar's Office.

LAWS OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

6 C A P . 118) Criminal Procedure
(Committal for Sentence)

(2) In such case the Registrar shall notify the Judge and
the Director of Public Prosecutions, or other prosecutor, of
such notice and the subsequent proceedings shall be as in
the case of a person committed for sentence and the provi-
sions of sections 4, 5 and 6 shall mutatis mutandis apply.

Committal for
sentence in

8. (1) Where a person has been committed by a
respect of Magistrate to the High Court for sentence under section 100
indictable
offences tried

of the Magistrate's Code of Procedure Act, the Magistrate
summarily. shall notify the Registrar of the High Court, and the Registrar

shall give notice to the Director of Public Prosecutions and
to the superintendent of the prison to which the person is
committed of the date on which the case will be dealt with.

(2) Where a person is so committed for sentence as refer-
red to in subsection (I), a judge of the High Court shall
inquire into the circumstances of the case, and shall have
power to deal with the person so committed in any manner
in which he could be dealt with by a court before which he
had just been convicted of the offence on indictment.