Part 22: Other Matters Specific to Criminal Proceedings

165. Judge Case Conference Checklist for criminal trials in the General Division

165A. Affidavit in support of criminal motion for extension of time to lodge notice of appeal or petition of appeal

166. Affidavit in support of an application for permission under section 394H of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010

167. Written submissions for criminal appeals and other criminal matters before the Court of Appeal and the General Division

168. Further written submissions for criminal matters before the Court of Appeal

165. Judge Case Conference Checklist for criminal trials in the General Division

(1) For every criminal case in the General Division that is scheduled for a Judge Case Conference before trial, unless the Defence has indicated that the accused wishes to plead guilty or the Court otherwise directs, the Prosecution and the Defence must each file, at least 7 days before the date of the Judge Case Conference, a Checklist (called the “Judge Case Conference Checklist”) in Form B44 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions.

(2) Where the accused is not legally represented, the Registry will arrange, at least 4 weeks before the date of the Judge Case Conference, for a copy of the Judge Case Conference Checklist to be sent to, or collected by, the accused.

165A. Affidavit in support of criminal motion for extension of time to lodge notice of appeal or petition of appeal

(1) Under section 407(2)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a criminal motion must be supported by an affidavit setting out a concise statement of the facts, the relief or remedy required and the reasons for the relief or remedy.

(2) Where the relief or remedy sought in a criminal motion is an extension of time to lodge a notice of appeal under section 377(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, or to lodge a petition of appeal under section 378(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, the affidavit supporting the criminal motion must attach as an exhibit an information sheet in Form B44A of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. The information sheet must be completed and signed by the person who makes the affidavit.

166. Affidavit in support of an application for permission under section 394H of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010

(1) Under section 394H(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 read with Rules 11(2) and (3) of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2018, the applicant in an application for permission (as defined in section 394F(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010) must file an affidavit in support of the application at the same time as the filing of the application. This affidavit is to be made by the applicant’s advocate (if the applicant is represented by an advocate when the affidavit is filed) or by the applicant (if the applicant is not represented by an advocate when the affidavit is filed). Where the applicant is represented by one or more advocates, a separate affidavit may be made by each advocate as the deponent or a joint affidavit may be made by all of the advocates as deponents.

(2) Every affidavit mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) must attach as an exhibit an information sheet in Form B45 of Appendix B of these Practice Directions. The information sheet must be completed and signed by the person who makes the affidavit.

167. Written submissions for criminal appeals and other criminal matters before the Court of Appeal and the General Division

(1) This paragraph applies to:

(a) criminal appeals and other criminal matters before the Court of Appeal; and

(b) magistrate’s appeals and other criminal matters before the General Division, except where the General Division is exercising its original criminal jurisdiction.

(2) The provisions of this paragraph are subject to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Electronic Filing and Service for Supreme Court) Rules 2022 and these Practice Directions, requiring the electronic filing of documents in criminal proceedings.

(3) Parties in magistrate’s appeals, criminal revisions and criminal motions before the General Division should ensure that 2 hard copies each of any written submissions and bundles of authorities (if any) are tendered to the Registry, unless parties are informed that more than 2 hard copies are to be tendered.

(4) Parties in criminal appeals, criminal motions and criminal references before the Court of Appeal should ensure that 4 hard copies of any written submissions and bundles of authorities (if any) are tendered to the Registry, unless parties are informed that more than 4 hard copies are to be tendered.

(5) To avoid doubt:

(a) written submissions must still be filed electronically; but

(b) it is not necessary for bundles of authorities to be filed electronically if hard copies are tendered;

(c) hard copies of bundles of authorities must be tendered to the Registry at the same time as hard copies of written submissions.

(6) The written submissions must comply with the following requirements:

(a) the written submissions must contain cross-references to the material which the party will be relying on, e.g., the relevant pages or paragraphs in authorities, the record of proceedings, affidavits, and the judgment under appeal;

(b) all pages must be paginated, with the first page (not including any cover page) numbered as “Page 1”;

(c) the minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent;

(d) the print of every page must be double-spaced; and

(e) every page must have a margin on all 4 sides, each of at least 35mm in width.

(7) Subject to any written law prescribing timelines for the filing of written submissions in criminal matters to which this paragraph applies, and any Court directions:

(a) For matters heard by the Court of Appeal: the written submissions, together with any bundle of authorities, must be filed by 4.00 p.m., on the Monday 3 weeks before the start of the sitting period of the Court of Appeal within which the appeal or matter is scheduled for hearing before the Court of Appeal, regardless of the actual day (within that sitting period) on which that appeal or matter is scheduled for hearing before the Court of Appeal. (For example, if the sitting period of the Court of Appeal starts on Monday, 27 June 2022 and ends on Friday, 8 July 2022, all written submissions for appeals or matters listed before the Court of Appeal in that sitting must be filed by 4.00 p.m. on Monday, 6 June 2022.)

(b) For matters heard by the General Division: the written submissions, together with any bundle of authorities, must be filed by 4.00 p.m., at least 10 days before the day of the hearing.

(8) Written submissions which do not comply with the requirements at sub-paragraphs (6) and (7) may be rejected.

(9) For matters before the Court of Appeal, a soft copy of the bundle of authorities must be tendered in Portable Document Format (PDF) in a CD-ROM at the same time as when the written submissions under sub-paragraph (7)(a) are filed.

168. Further written submissions for criminal matters before the Court of Appeal

Where the Court of Appeal orders further written submissions to be filed for any criminal matter, such written submissions must not exceed 10 pages unless otherwise directed by the Court of Appeal. Any written submissions filed in breach of this requirement may be rejected. The written submissions must further comply with all formatting requirements prescribed in paragraph 167(6) of these Practice Directions.