cp149 Consents to Prosecution consultation - Law Commission

Absence of consent
1.37 If proceedings which require consent are instituted without consent, both the
committal proceedings and the subsequent trial are a nullity. 193
Time of consent
1.38 In Whale and Lockton, 194
concerning charges under the Explosive Substances Act
1833, it was held that proceedings were instituted for the purposes of the
Attorney-General’s consent provision contained in section 7(1) of that Act 195
when
a person came to court “to answer the charge”. 196
It was unnecessary, therefore, for
the consent of the Attorney-General to be obtained until arraignment.
1.39 This case appeared to conflict with Price v Humphreys, 197
which held that
proceedings were instituted when a summons was issued following the laying of an
information. 198
In Bull, 199
however, it was explained that, in cases where the
summons procedure had not been used, section 25(2) of the POA 1985 200
would
193 Angel [1968] 1 WLR 669, a case involving s 8 of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, as to which
see n 84 above.
194 [1991] Crim LR 692.
195 Section 7(1) (as substituted by the Administration of Justice Act 1982, s 63(1)) provides:
Proceedings for a crime under this Act shall not be instituted except by or with
the consent of the Attorney-General.
196 The decision followed the decision in Elliot (1985) 81 Cr App R 115.
197 [1958] 2 QB 353.
198 Per Devlin J.
199 (1994) 99 Cr App R 193.
200 Paragraph (a) of this subsection provides that any enactment requiring the consent of the
Law Officers or the DPP to the institution or carrying on of proceedings “shall not prevent
the arrest without warrant, or the issue or execution of a warrant for the arrest, of a person
for any offence, or the remand in custody or on bail of a person charged with any offence”.
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