Indictments Act 1915
Encyclopedia
The Indictments Act 1915 (5 & 6 Geo 5. c.90) was an Act
Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 that made significant changes to the law relating to indictments. The law relating to indictments evolved during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and became lengthy, confusing and highly technical to the point where some barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

s specialised entirely in drawing up indictments. During the nineteenth century several Acts were passed by Parliament to correct this problem, but none were entirely successful. In 1913 Lord Haldane created a committee to draw up a draft bill reforming the law of indictments, which became the Indictments Act 1915.

Coming into force on 1 April 1916, the Act established rules on how indictments are to be drafted, and provided methods to amend and alter faulty indictments in court. Most importantly it simplified the layout of indictments and provided a list of items it had to contain, such as "such particulars as may be necessary for giving reasonable information as to the nature of the charge." While the Act has been significantly amended over the years, several sections are still in force, and the indictment rules given form the basis of the Indictment Rules 1971 (S.I. 1971/1253) which replace the Indictment Rules 1915 (S.R. & O. 1915/1235).

Background

An indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...

 is a document formally accusing an individual of a criminal offence. Indictments have been used in English law from at least 1362, but the system was mainly developed during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During this period indictments became lengthy, confusing and highly technical, firstly because of the large number of new criminal offences created and secondly because of the back-and-forth between counsel for the defence and the prosecution, one attempting to spot loopholes in the indictment and the other attempting to close them. A slight misspelling on the indictment rendered it invalid, and all errors were taken in favour of the prisoner. An additional contributory factor was that the indictments were drafted by clerks of assize
Clerk of Assize
A Clerk of Assize was a clerk of the Assize Courts of England and Wales, a position which existed from at least 1285 to 1971, when the Courts Act 1971 eliminated the Assize Courts...

 who were only paid once per set of indictments - if the indictment was not valid they had to write a new one for free, and they therefore had a vested interest in making them as detailed and complex as possible to avoid subtle flaws. By the turn of the twentieth century indictments were so complex that some barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

s such as Archibald Bodkin
Archibald Bodkin
Sir Archibald Henry Bodkin KCB was an English lawyer and the Director of Public Prosecutions from 1920 to 1930. He particularly took a stand against the publication of what he saw as 'obscene' literature.-Early years:...

 had a practice specialising in writing them.

The 19th century saw significant changes made to English criminal law
English criminal law
English criminal law refers to the body of law in the jurisdiction of England and Wales which deals with crimes and their consequences. Criminal acts are considered offences against the whole of a community...

 in an attempt to simplify and modernise it, and Acts of Parliament reforming the law surrounding indictments were passed in 1826, 1828, 1848, 1849 and 1851. Only the 1851 Act dealt with indictments directly - the others simply amended the law around it - but it was not an unqualified success.J.F. Stephen
James Fitzjames Stephen
Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet was an English lawyer, judge and writer. He was created 1st Baronet Stephen by Queen Victoria.-Early life:...

 wrote "In 1851 an Act was passed which went further in the way of removing technicalities but it did so by an enumeration of them so technical and minute that no one could possibly understand it who had not first acquainted himself with the technicalities which it was meant to abolish". The Act did get rid of the idea that minor flaws in an indictment sunk it entirely, and Stephen later wrote that "a general impression has been produced that quibbles about indictments have come to an end".

Nothing else was done to reform the law relating to indictments until the early 20th century. In 1913 Lord Haldane created a committee led by Mr Justice Avory
Horace Avory
Sir Horace Edmund Avory was an English criminal lawyer, jurist and Privy Counsellor.-Biography:He was the son of Henry Avory, clerk of the Central Criminal Court. He was educated at King's College London, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was captain of boats and took the degree of...

 to draft a bill reforming the law of indictments. The draft bill was finished and introduced to Parliament by 1915, and it was given the Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

 on 23 December 1915, coming into force on 1 April 1916 as the Indictments Act 1915.

Ommissions

Despite being the first Act to amend the law relating to indictments in over 50 years, it at no point formally defines what an indictment is.

Section 1 - Rules as to indictments

Section 1 of the Act provides:
The words "by the rule committee" were repealed by section 19(4)(b) of the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956.

The First Schedule to the Act was repealed by rule 2 of the Indictment Rules 1971.

The original format also allows the rules to be changed by the Rules Committee, something removed when the Act was amended by the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956. The original rules remained in force until 1971, when they were significantly reformed as the Indictment Rules 1971.

Section 2 - Powers of rule committee

This section created a rule committee made up of the Lord Chief Justice, a judge of the High Court of Justice
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, a Clerk of the Peace
Clerk of the Peace
A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the Quarter Sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace.-England and Wales:...

, a Clerk of Assize
Clerk of Assize
A Clerk of Assize was a clerk of the Assize Courts of England and Wales, a position which existed from at least 1285 to 1971, when the Courts Act 1971 eliminated the Assize Courts...

, a Chairman of the Quarter Sessions
Quarter Sessions
The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...

, a Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...

 and "another person having experience in criminal procedure". The committee had the power to suggest changes to the rules governing indictments, which would be placed before Parliament for forty days and passed as a Statutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...

 if no objections were raised. This was a more powerful version of the rules committee established by the Poor Prisoners' Defence Act 1903. This section was repealed by the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956 and the Courts Act 1971
Courts Act 1971
The Courts Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the purpose of which was to reform and modernise the courts system of England and Wales....

, and the rules are now amended by the Crown Court Rule Committee.

Section 3 - General provisions as to indictments

This section lays out what an indictment is required to contain. It must include a statement of the offence the defendant is being charged with "together with such particulars as may be necessary for giving reasonable information as to the nature of the charge." The second part of this caused problems, because prosecution barristers would give the smallest amount of information possible to make the defence counsel's job more difficult. This was a significant problem, particularly in complex fraud cases where by the 1960s it was normal for the defence attorney to receive several thousand pages of witness statements, documents and pieces of evidence with only a vague, general indictment tying them together.

Section 4 - Joinder of charges in the same indictment

This section allowed an indictment for both felonies
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 and misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

s at once, but gave the defendant the right to treat both as if they were felonies and allowed him to challenge the jurors. This was amended by the Criminal Law Act 1967
Criminal Law Act 1967
The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...

 to remove the right to challenge jurors (and felonies were abolished).

Section 5 - Orders for amendment of indictment, separate trial and postponement of trial

This section allows the court to amend an indictment at any point before trial, unless to do so would cause an "injustice". It also allows them to postpone a trial for the purpose of amending the indictment and separate felonies and misdemeanors into different indictments.

Section 6 - Costs of defective or redundant indictments

This section allowed the court to award costs to the prosecution for defective or unnecessarily lengthy indictments. It was repealed by section 31(6) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

Section 7 - Saving

This section formerly provided that nothing in the Act prevents the challenge of an indictment if it fails to comply with the Vexatious Indictments Act 1859. This was amended by the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1933, and the section now provides that nothing in the Act prevents a challenge if the indictment fails to comply with "any other enactment".

Section 8 - Savings and interpretation

This section provides that similarly the Act does not intend to alter the jurisdiction of courts or places where an individual can be tried, and that the Act applies to all appeals against indictments.

Section 9 - Repeal, extent, short title and commencement

This section provides that the Act does not apply in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 or Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, and that it came into force on 1 April 1916. It also amends and repeals several other bits of legislation with the Second Schedule, including some of the Quarter Sessions Act 1849. This schedule was itself repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1927.

First Schedule

This Schedule contained rules relating to indictments, which could be cited as the Indictment rules 1915. It was repealed by rule 2 of the Indictment Rules 1971. The rules created by this Schedule are replaced by new rules under that instrument.

The rules set out the form an indictment was meant to take.

Rule 1(2) provided that each sheet on which an indictment was set out was to be not more
than 12 and not less than 6 inches in length, and not more that 14 and not less than 12 inches in width, and that if more than one sheet was required, that the sheets were to be fastened together in book form.

The Appendix to the Rules, as enacted, contained specimen forms of indictment for a number of offences:
  • Form 1 - Murder
    Murder in English law
    Murder is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. It is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another either intending to cause death or intending to cause serious injury .-Actus reus:The definition of the actus reus Murder is an offence under the...

  • Form 2 - Accessory after the fact to murder
  • Form 3 - Manslaughter
    Manslaughter in English law
    In the English law of homicide, manslaughter is a less serious offence than murder, the differential being between levels of fault based on the mens rea . In England and Wales, the usual practice is to prefer a charge of murder, with the judge or defence able to introduce manslaughter as an option...

  • Form 4 - Rape
    Rape in English law
    -Statute:The offence is created by of the Sexual Offences Act 2003:-Consent, s.1 & & :This expression is defined by section 74. The evidential and conclusive presumptions created by sections 75 and 76 apply to this offence...

  • Form 5
    • Count 1 - Wounding with intent, contrary to section 18 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861
      Offences Against The Person Act 1861
      The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...

    • Count 2 - Wounding, contrary to section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861
  • Form 6 - Cruelty to a child, contrary to section 12 of the Children Act 1908
    Children Act 1908
    The 1908 Children's Act, also known as Children and Young Persons Act, part of the Children's Charter was a piece of government legislation passed by the Liberal government, as part of the British Liberal Party's liberal reforms package...

  • Form 7 - Larceny, contrary to section 67 of the Larceny Act 1861
    Larceny Act 1861
    The Larceny Act 1861 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . It consolidated provisions related to larceny and similar offences from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...

  • Form 8 - Robbery with violence, contrary to section 42 of the Larceny Act 1861
  • Form 9
    • Count 1 - Larceny after a previous conviction
    • Count 2 - Receiving stolen goods, contrary to section 91 of the Larceny Act 1861
  • Form 10 - Burglary and larceny, contrary to section 60 of the Larceny Act 1861
  • Form 11 - Sending threatening letter, contrary to section 46 of the Larceny Act 1861
  • Form 12 - Obtaining goods by false pretences, contrary to section 88 of the Larceny Act 1861
  • Form 13 - Conspiracy to defraud
    Conspiracy to defraud
    Conspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-England and Wales:The standard definition of a conspiracy to defraud was provided by Lord Dilhorne in Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, when he said that Conspiracy to defraud therefore...

  • Form 14
    • Count 1 - Arson
      Arson
      Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...

      , contrary to section 2 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861
      Malicious Damage Act 1861
      The Malicious Damage Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . It consolidated provisions related to malicious damage from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...

    • Count 2 - Arson, contrary to section 3 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861
  • Form 15 - A.B., arson, contrary to section 3 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861; C.D., accessory before the fact to same offence
  • Form 16
    • Count 1 - Offence under section 35 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861
    • Count 2 - Obstructing railway, contrary to section 36 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861.
  • Form 17 Damaging trees, contrary to section 22 of the Malicious Damage Act 1861
  • Form 18
    • Count 1 - Forgery, contrary to section 2(1)(a) of the Forgery Act 1913
      Forgery Act 1913
      The Forgery Act 1913 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.This Act was repealed for England and Wales and Northern Ireland by section 30 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981...

    • Count 2 - Uttering forged document, contrary to section 6(1)(2) of the Forgery Act 1913
  • Form 19 - Uttering counterfeit coin, contrary to section 9 of the Coinage Offences Act 1861
  • Form 20 - Uttering counterfeit coin, contrary to section 12 of the Coinage Offences Act 1861
  • Form 21 - Perjury, contrary to section (1)(i) of the Perjury Act 1911
    Perjury Act 1911
    The Perjury Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates the offence of perjury and a number of similar offences....

  • Form 22 - Libel (i.e. defamatory libel
    Defamatory libel
    Defamatory libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It has been abolished in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was or is a form of criminal libel, a term with which it is synonymous.-England and Wales and Northern Ireland:...

    )
  • Form 23
    • Count 1 - Publishing obscene libel
      Obscene libel
      The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition by of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour...

    • Count 2 - Procuring obscene libel [or thing] with intent to sell or publish
  • Form 24 - A.B., undischarged bankrupt, obtaining credit, contrary to section 155 (a) of the Bankruptcy Act 1914; C.D., being accessory to same offence
  • Form 25 - Counts 1 and 2:Falsification of accounts, contrary to section 1 of the Falsification of Accounts Act 1875
  • Form 26
    • Count 1 - Fraudulent conversion of property, contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Larceny Act 1901
      Larceny Act 1901
      The Larceny Act 1901 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created offences of fraudulent conversion.This Act amended sections 75 and 76 of the Larceny Act 1861...

    • Count 2 - Fraudulent conversion of property, contrary to section 1(1)(b) of the Larceny Act 1901


By rule 4(5), the forms set out in the appendix to the rules or forms conforming thereto as nearly as may be had to be used in cases to which they were applicable, and in other cases forms to the like effect or conforming thereto as nearly as may be had to be used, the statement of offence and the particulars of offence being varied according to the circumstances in each case.
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