Indictable offence

In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. the Republic of Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury (in contrast to a summary offence). In the United States, a crime of similar severity is a felony, although it too proceeds after an indictment.

England and Wales

In relation to England and Wales, the expression "indictable offence" means an offence which, if committed by an adult, is triable on indictment, whether it is exclusively so triable or triable either way; and the term "indictable", in its application to offences, is to be construed accordingly. In this definition, references to the way or ways in which an offence is triable are to be construed without regard to the effect, if any, of section 22 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 on the mode of trial in a particular case.^[1]

In English law, the term refers to either way and indictable only offences.

An either way or hybrid offence allows the defendant to elect between trial by jury on indictment in the Crown Court and summary trial in the Magistrates' Court. However, the election may be overruled by the court of first instance if the facts suggest that the sentencing powers of a Magistrates' Court would be inadequate to represent the seriousness of the offence.

In relation to some indictable offences, for example criminal damage, only summary trial is available unless the damage caused exceeds £5,000.

A youth court has jurisdiction to try all indictable offences with the exception of murder, and will normally do so provided that the available sentencing power of 2 years detention is adequate to punish the offender if found guilty.

Offences triable only on indictment

Some offences such as murder and rape are considered so serious that they can only be tried on indictment at the Crown Court where the widest range of sentencing powers is available to the judge.

The expression indictable-only offence was defined by section 51(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, as originally enacted, as an offence triable only on indictment. Sections 51 and 52 of, and Schedule 3 to, that Act abolished committal proceedings for such offences and made other provisions in relation to them.

When the accused is charged with an indictable only offence, he is sent to the Crown Court for trial. The rules are different in England and Wales in respect of those under 18 years of age.

See also section 14(a) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

History

See section 64 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

New Zealand

Similarly in New Zealand, a rape or murder charge will be tried at the High Court, while less serious offences such as theft, will be tried at the District Court.

Canada

For differences between indictable offences and summary offences see summary offences.

See also

• Federal crime
• Felony
• Indictment
• Summary offence

References

1. ^ The Interpretation Act 1978, section 5 and Schedule 1 (in the heading "construction of certain expressions relating to offences"), as amended by section 154 of, and paragraph 169 of Schedule 7 to, the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.

This article about a criminal law topic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Criminal law stubs Common law Crimes Criminal law Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Interference F.C. Internazionale Milano Look at other dictionaries: indictable offence — an offence is indictable if it itself may be tried on indictment or is triable either way. See summary offence. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary indictable offence — noun An offence that must be tried before a jury in the Crown Court • • • Main Entry: ↑indict …   Useful english dictionary offence — n. infraction 1) to commit an offence 2) a minor, petty, trivial; serious offence 3) a capital; impeachable; indictable offence 4) an offence against feeling of outrage 5) to take offence at (she takes offence at every remark) insult (formal) 6)… …   Combinatory dictionary Offence (law) — In law, an offence is a violation of the criminal law (a.k.a. penal law). In England and Wales, as well as in Hong Kong the term offence means the same thing as, and is interchangeable with, the term crime .[1] The term offence can include… …   Wikipedia indictable — in|dict|a|ble [ınˈdaıtəbəl] adj law especially AmE an indictable offence is one for which you can be indicted …   Dictionary of contemporary English indictable — adjective law especially AmE an indictable offence is one for which you can be indicted …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English indictable — UK [ɪnˈdaɪtəb(ə)l] / US adjective legal an indictable offence is one for which you can be officially accused and brought to a court for trial …   English dictionary indictable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of an offence) chargeable as a serious crime and warranting a trial by jury …   English terms dictionary Offence against the person — Criminal law Part o …   Wikipedia indictable — indict in‧dict [ɪnˈdaɪt] verb [intransitive, transitive] especially AmE LAW to officially charge someone with a criminal offence: indict somebody for something • 21 currency traders have been indicted for illegal trading practices. indictable …   Financial and business terms 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”