Prosecution of Criminal Offences

Summary

A request was made to the Attorney General's Chambers for details on the practical management of criminal prosecutions, including documentation of evidential tests and specific policies for road races. The authority responded that while operational processes exist, the specific documentation requested is not 'held' by the AGC, and referred the requester to existing public codes and court practice directions.

Key Facts

• The AGC confirmed that the application of the 'Evidential Test' and 'Public Interest Test' is documented, but stated this information is not 'held' by the AGC.
• No specific factors or published policies relating to the Road Closures Authorisation Act 2016 or TT/MGP Road Races are held by the AGC beyond the Prosecution Code.
• The timeline for providing evidence to the Defence depends on whether it is required by a court order or statute such as the CPIA.
• The process for dealing with a case is outlined in a practice direction issued by the Summary Court rather than an internal AGC document.
• There is no policy guidance for the settlement of legal costs; disputed costs are a matter for the Court.

Data Disclosed

• 1479206
• 2020-09-18
• 2020-10-01
• 22 September 2020
• Road Closures Authorisation Act 2016
• Paragraph 16
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held by the authority

Original Request

Freedom of Information Request - Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) Management of Criminal Prosecutions I already have the AGC's Prosecution Code, but please explain how, in practical terms, a prosecution case develops from the initial charging through to the trial. I recognise that there is no Crown Prosecution Service, per se, on the Island. However I would request the following information: 1. Are the application or assessment of the 'Evidential Test' and 'Public Interest Test' for each prosecution documented in any way? 2. Are there any mechanisms for formal or peer review of the conclusions or evaluation of these tests within the AGC either formally or informally? 3. Paragraph 16 of the Code indicates that certain factors or published policies may be taken into account for the Public Interest Test. Are there any such factors or published policies relating to the Road Closures Authorisation Act 2016 or any other legislation relating to the conduct of the TT or MGP Road Races? 4. Is there any maximum period by which the AGC is required to provide evidence in response to a Defence request? 5. What statutory or other requirement (such as a code of conduct etc) is there for the AG to provide all relevant evidence to the Defence in a particular case? 6. What approval process or processes, if any, are there within the AGC, prior to a trial, for a prosecution to proceed? That could include a peer or superior officer revue. 7. Is there a policy guideline or any other targets in respect of timelines for the settlement of legal costs? Please provide documentary evidence where relevant.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Attorney General's Chambers 2nd floor Belgravia House Circular Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 1AE Telephone: (01624) 685452 E-mail: attgen@gov.im

Our ref: 1479206 22 September 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 18 September 2020 and which states:

"Freedom of Information Request - Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) Management of Criminal Prosecutions I already have the AGC's Prosecution Code, but please explain how, in practical terms, a prosecution case develops from the initial charging through to the trial. I recognise that there is no Crown Prosecution Service, per se, on the Island. However I would request the following information: 1. Are the application or assessment of the 'Evidential Test' and 'Public Interest Test' for each prosecution documented in any way? 2. Are there any mechanisms for formal or peer review of the conclusions or evaluation of these tests within the AGC either formally or informally? 3. Paragraph 16 of the Code indicates that certain factors or published policies may be taken into account for the Public Interest Test. Are there any such factors or published policies relating to the Road Closures Authorisation Act 2016 or any other legislation relating to the conduct of the TT or MGP Road Races? 4. Is there any maximum period by which the AGC is required to provide evidence in response to a Defence request? 5. What statutory or other requirement (such as a code of conduct etc) is there for the AG to provide all relevant evidence to the Defence in a particular case? 6. What approval process or processes, if any, are there within the AGC, prior to a trial, for a prosecution to proceed? That could include a peer or superior officer revue. 7. Is there a policy guideline or any other targets in respect of timelines for the settlement of legal costs? Please provide documentary evidence where relevant."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below answers to your questions: 1. This is a request for details of operational delivery recording and decision making. The answer is Yes – but the information is not “held” by AGC. 2. As (1) above. 3. There is no information held by the AGC beyond that which is contained in the Prosecution Code: https://www.gov.im/media/1359465/prosecution-code.pdf

1. This will depend upon what basis the disclosure is required – whether as a result of a court order / direction or pursuant to statute (CPIA for instance).
2. While this is not information “held” by AGC, the process for dealing with a case is outlined in a practice direction issued by the Summary Court: https://www.courts.im/media/1527/dhbpracticedirections201317092.pdf
3. As (1) above.
4. There is no “policy guidance”: where costs are disputed the procedure or timetable for assessment and payments are a matter for the Court.

Please quote the reference number 1479206 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely