Criminal Justice Act 1967

Criminal Justice Act 1967

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the law relating to the proceedings of criminal courts, including the law relating to evidence, and to the qualification of jurors, in such proceedings and to appeals in criminal cases; to reform existing methods and provide new methods of dealing with offenders; to make further provision for the treatment of offenders, the management of prisons and other institutions and the arrest of offenders unlawfully at large; to make further provision with respect to legal aid and advice in criminal proceedings; to amend the law relating to firearms and ammunition; to alter the penalties which may be imposed for certain offences; and for connected purposes.
Citation	1967 c 80
Dates
Royal assent	27 July 1967
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Criminal Justice Act 1967 (c. 80) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Section 9 allows uncontroversial witness statements to be read in court instead of having to call the witness to give live testimony in the courtroom, if it will not be necessary to challenge their evidence in cross-examination.^[1] The rule in section 9 was not new in 1967; it was a re-enactment of a law which had previously appeared in the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and the Criminal Justice Act 1948.

Section 13 removed the requirement for unanimous verdicts and permitted majority verdicts for juries in England and Wales. (This section was repealed and replaced by the Juries Act 1974.)

Sections 39 to 42 introduced the ability for courts to suspend a sentence.^[2]

Section 89 makes it an offence to lie in a witness statement (since perjury only applies to lies told in court).