Sub-Title D - Criminal Procedure

• Author: Ralph Hone
• Pages: #2

53 Informations

CHAPTER 53.

INFORMATIONS.

AN ACT RELATING TO INFORMATIONS IN CRIMINAL CASES IN THE SUPREME COURT AND MATTERS INCIDENTAL OR SIMILAR THERETO.

3 of 1916.

46 of 1964.

[Ist August 1916.1

1. This Act may be cited as The Informations Short title.

   Act.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires'court' means the Supreme Court;

   'information' means an information in the court exhibited in open court by the Attorney General, or some duly qualified counsel authorised by him in that behalf;

   'rules' means rules made under this Act.

3. The rules contained in the Schedule to this Act with respect to informations shall have effect as if enacted in this Act, but those rules may be added to, varied or annulled by further rules by the Rules Committee under section 41 of The Supreme Court Act.

4. Every information shall contain, and shall be sufficient if it contains, a statement of the specific offence or offences with which the accused person is charged, together with such particulars as may be necessary for giving reasonable information as to the nature of the charge.

5. Notwithstanding any rule of law or practice, an information shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, not be open to objection in respect of its form or contents if it is framed in accordance with the rules.

6. Subject to the provisions of the rules, charges for more than one felony or for more than one misdemeanour, and charges for both felonies and misde Interpretation.

   Rules as to informations.

   Schedule.

   46 of 1964, Schd.

   Ch. 35.

   Statement of offence.

   No objection to form etc.

   Joinder of charges in the same information.

   meanours, may be joined in the same information, but where a felony is tried together with any misdemeanour the jury shall be sworn as if all the offences charged in the information were felonies.

   Orders for 7.--(1) Where, before trial, or at any stage of a amendment of information, trial, it appears to the court that the information is separate trial defective, the court shall make such order for the and postponement amendment of the information as the court thinks of trial, necessary to meet the circumstances of the case unless, having regard to the merits of the case, the required amendments cannot be made without injustice and may make such order as to the payment of any costs incurred owing to the necessity for amendment as the court thinks fit.

   (2) Where an information is so amended, a note of the order for amendment shall be endorsed on the information and the information shall be treated for the purposes of the trial and for the purposes of all proceedings in connection therewith as having been exhibited in the amended form.

   (3) Where, before trial, or at any stage of a trial, the court is of opinion that a person accused may be prejudiced or embarrassed in his defence by reason of being charged with more than one offence in the same information, or that for any other reason it is desirable to direct that the person should be tried separately for any one or more offences charged in an information, the court may order a separate trial of any count or counts of such information.

   (4) Where, before trial, or at any stage of a trial, the court is of opinion that the postponement of the trial of a7person accused is expedient as a consequence of the exercise of any power of the court under this Act to amend an information or to order a separate trial of a count, the court shall make such order as to the postponement of the trial as appears necessary.

   (5) Where an order of the court is made under this section for a separate trial or for the postponement of a trial(a) if such an order is made during a trial the court may order that the jury are to be discharged from giving a verdict on the count or counts the trial of which is postponed or on the information, as the case may be;

   (b) the procedure on the separate trial of a INFRMTIOS.[CH.53. 1103 count shall be the same in all respects as if the count had been exhibited in a separate information, and the procedure on the postponed trial shall be the same in all respects (if the jury has been discharged) as if the trial had not commenced;

   (c) the court may make such order as to costs and as to admitting the accused person to bail and as to the enlargement of recognizances and otherwise as the court thinks fit.

   (6) Any power of the court under this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other power of the court for the same or similar purposes.

8. Where it appears to the court that an iniform- costs of ation contains unnecessary matter, or is of unnecessary defectiv7e or length, or is materially defective in any respect, the informations.

   court may make such order as to the payment of that part of the costs of the prosecution which has been incurred by reason of the information so. containing unnecessary matter, or being of unnecessary length, or being materially defective as the court thinks fit.

   9,-Ql) Nothing in this Act or the rules shall affect savings.

   the law or practice relating to the jurisdiction of the court, nor -prejudice or diminish in any respect the obligation to establish by evidence according to law any acts, omissions or intentions which are legally necessary to constitute the offence with which the person accused is charged, nor otherwise affect the laws of evidence in criminal cases.

   (2) The provisions of this Act relating to informations shall apply to inquisitions, and also to any plea, replication or other criminal pleading, with such modifications as may be made by the rules.

   SCHEDULE. Section 3.

   RULES.

   1,-(l) An information may be on parchment or durable Material, etc.and ay e ethe writenor rined r patlywritenandfor paper, an'a eete rte rpitd rprl rte n informations.

   partly printed.

   (2) Each sheet on which an information is set out shall be not more than 17 and not less than 13 inches in length, and not more than 14 and not less than 8 inches in width, and if more than one sheet is required the sheets shall be fastened together in book form.

   (3) A proper margin not less than 2 inches in width shall be kept on the left hand side of each sheet.

   (4) Figures and abbreviations may be used in an information for expressing anything which is commonly expressed thereby.

   (5) There shall be endorsed on the information the name of every witness intended to be examined.

   (6) An information shall not be open to objection by reason only of any failure to comply with this rule.

   Commencement 2. The commencement of the information shall be in the of information. f g following form:BAHAMA ISLANDS.

   IN THE SUPREME COURT.

   Criminal Side.

   The Queen versus A. B.

   To Wit:

   1. B. is charged with the following offence (offences):Joining of 3. Charges for any offences, whether felonies or misdecharges in one meanours, may be joined in the same information if those charges information. are founded on the same facts, or form or are part of a series of offences of the same or a similar character.

   Mode in which 4.-(1) A description of the offence charged in an information offences are to or where more than one offence is charged in an information, of be charged, each offence so charged, shall be set out in the information in a separate paragraph called a count.

   (2) A count of an information shall commence with a statement of the offence charged, called the statement of offence.

   (3) The statement of offence shall describe the offence shortly in ordinary language, avoiding as far as possible the use of technical terms, and without necessarily stating all the essential elements of the offence, and, if the offence charged is one created by Act, shall contain a reference to the section of the Act creating the offence.

   (4) After the statement of the offence, particulars of such offence shall be set out in ordinary language, in which the use of technical terms shall not be necessary:

   Provided that where any rule of law or any Act limits the particulars of an offence which are required to be given in an information, nothing in this rule shall require any more particulars to be given than those so required.

   (5) The forms set out in the appendix to these rules or forms conforming thereto as nearly as may be shall be used in cases to which they are applicable, and in other cases forms to the like effect or conforming thereto as nearly as may be shall be used, the statement of offence and the particulars of offence being varied according to the circumstances in each case.

   (6) Where an information contains more than one count, the counts shall be numbered consecutively.

5. -(1) Where an Act constituting an offence states the offence to be the doing or the omission to do any one of any different acts in the alternative, or the doing or the omission to do any act in any one of any different capacities, or with any one of any different intentions, or states any part of the offence in the alternative, the acts, omissions, capacities or intentions or other matters stated in the alternative in the enactment, may be stated in the alternative in the count charging the offence.

   (2) It shall not be necessary, in any count charging a statutory offence, to negative any exception or exemption from or qualification to the operation of the Act creating the offence.

6. -(1) The description of property in a count in an information shall be in ordinary language and such as to indicate with reasonable clearness the property referred to, and if the property is so described it shall not be necessary (except when required for the purpose of describing an offence depending on any special ownership of property or special value of property) to name the person to whom the property belongs or the value of the property.

   (2) Where propertyis vested in more than one person, and the owners of the property are referred to in an information, it shall be sufficient to describe the property as owned by one of those persons by name with others, and if the persons owning the property are a...