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England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> National Probation Service v The Crown Court Sitting At Blackfriars & Ors [2019] EWHC 529 (Admin) (07 March 2019) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2019/529.html Cite as: [2019] EWHC 529 (Admin), [2019] WLR(D) 165 |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
DIVISIONAL COURT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
and
MRS JUSTICE FARBEY DBE
____________________
NATIONAL PROBATION SERVICE |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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(1) THE CROWN COURT SITTING AT BLACKFRIARS (2) ALAN MUSOKE (3) KAMAL USTEK |
Respondents |
____________________
The Respondents were not represented
Hearing date: 21 February 2019
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Lord Justice Leggatt:
The background
The law
"(5) A community order must specify a date ("the end date"), not more than three years after the date of the order, by which all the requirements in it must have been complied with.
(5A) If a community order imposes two or more different requirements …, the order may also specify a date by which each of those requirements must have been complied with; and the last of those dates must be the same as the end date.
(5B) Subject to section 200(3) (duration of community order imposing unpaid work requirement), a community order ceases to be in force on the end date."
"(1) An offender in respect of whom an unpaid work requirement of a relevant order is in force must perform for the number of hours specified in the order such work at such times as he may be instructed by the responsible officer.
(2) Subject to paragraph 20 of Schedule 8 and paragraph 18 of Schedule 12 (power to extend order), the work required to be performed under an unpaid work requirement of a community order or a suspended sentence order must be performed during a period of twelve months.
(3) Unless revoked, a community order imposing an unpaid work requirement remains in force until the offender has worked under it for the number of hours specified in it.
(4) Where an unpaid work requirement is imposed by a suspended sentence order, the supervision period as defined by section 189(1A) continues until the offender has worked under the order for the number of hours specified in the order, but does not continue beyond the end of the operational period as defined by section 189(1)(a)."
"(1) Where –
(a) a community order imposing an unpaid work requirement is in force in respect of any offender, and
(b) on the application of the offender or an officer of a provider of probation services, it appears to the appropriate court that it would be in the interests of justice to do so having regard to circumstances which have arisen since the order was made,
the court may, in relation to the order, extend the period of twelve months specified in section 200(2)."
Paragraph 18 of Schedule 12 is in similar terms, except that it applies where a suspended sentence order imposing an unpaid work requirement is in force in respect of any offender.
The plain reading of the provisions
(1) Pursuant to section 200(2) of the Act, the work required to be performed under an unpaid work requirement of a community order must be performed during a period of twelve months – but this is subject to paragraph 20 of Schedule 8.
(2) Under paragraph 20 of Schedule 8, it is a condition precedent to the power of the court to extend the period of twelve months specified in section 200(2) that a community order imposing an unpaid work requirement is in force in respect of the offender.
(3) Pursuant to section 200(3), a community order imposing an unpaid work requirement, unless revoked, remains in force until the offender has worked under it for the number of hours specified in it.
The judge's reasoning
This appeal
Reasons
The judge's concerns
"Although the language in relation to the issue of a summons for non-compliance is effectively the same (see paragraphs 7 and 8 of Schedule 8 of the Act), section 200(3) of the Act makes it clear that a community order will continue in force, unless revoked, until the offender has worked under it for the number of hours specified. In relation to a suspended sentence order, on the other hand, section 200(4) is equally clear that the order does not continue beyond the operational period."
Adverse consequences of the Crown Court's interpretation
Authority
"It is clear that the length of a community order should be certain at the time at which it is imposed. If it is an order to perform a number of hours unpaid work and the statute required that that period of unpaid work be completed within 12 months, then it is a community order of 12 months' duration."
She went on to say at para 10: "It must be the position that the order itself cannot exist other than as a vehicle through which a particular requirement is performed."
Disposition
Mrs Justice Farbey: