Part 2
Punishments

Fine

19 Enforcement of fines by High Court

(1) If the High Court imposes 1 or more fines, Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 applies to the fine or fines, subject to any necessary modifications and subject to the modifications in subsections (2) to (5).

(2) Without limiting the actions that the High Court may take under Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 in relation to the fine or fines, the High Court may make any orders that it thinks fit, including a charging order or sale order in relation to the offender’s real property.

(3) To avoid doubt, section 88A of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 does not apply if the High Court makes, in accordance with subsection (2), a charging order or sale order in relation to real property.

(4) If an offender is sentenced by the High Court to community work, community detention, or home detention under section 88AE(1) of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 or is imprisoned under a warrant of commitment issued under that section,—

(a) section 89(2) and (3) of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 apply with any necessary modifications as if—

(i) the references in those subsections to a District Court Judge were references to a High Court Judge; and
(ii) the reference to the High Court was a reference to the Court of Appeal; and

(b) sections 244 and 250 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and any other relevant provisions of that Act relating to appeals against sentence apply with any necessary modifications.

(5) Despite section 90 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, the period of imprisonment that the High Court may impose on the offender for the non-payment of 1 or more fines must not exceed, for each fine, the lesser of—

(a) the maximum term of imprisonment to which the of-fender was liable on the conviction; or

(b) a period of 2 years.

(6) If the High Court enforces 1 or more fines under this section, the court may, at the same time, enforce any outstanding fine or fines imposed on the offender by a District Court.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6), the outstanding fine or fines imposed by the District Court must be treated as if the fine or fines were imposed by the High Court and, in accordance with subsection
(1), Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 applies to the fine or fines, subject to—

(a) any necessary modifications; and

(b) the modifications in subsections (2) and (4), but not the modification in subsection (5), if the outstanding fine or fines were imposed in the District Court.

(8) A Registrar of a District Court or of the High Court may exercise any jurisdiction and powers conferred on a Registrar of a District Court by Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 in respect of the fine or fines imposed by the High Court to which, under subsection (1), that Part applies.

(9) A bailiff of a District Court may exercise any jurisdiction and powers conferred on a bailiff of a District Court by Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 in respect of the fine or fines imposed by the High Court to which, under subsection (1), that Part applies.

(10) The amount of the fee payable if default is made in the payment of 1 or more fines imposed by the High Court to which, under subsection (1), Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 applies is the same as that prescribed by regulations, made under the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, in respect of enforcement action taken under that Act to enforce the fine or fines.

(11) To avoid doubt, sections 92A to 92I of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 apply, subject to any necessary modifications, to any fine or fines imposed by the High Court, and accordingly, the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice may, among other things authorised by those sections, disclose information about default balances relating to such fine or fines in accordance with those sections.

(12) For the purposes of this section, and subject to subsection (4), any reference in Part 3 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 to—

(a) a Court is, unless the context otherwise requires, taken to be a reference to the High Court; and

(b) a District Court Judge is, unless the context otherwise requires, taken to be a reference to a High Court Judge; and

(c) a Registrar is, unless the context otherwise requires, taken to be a reference to a Registrar of the High Court or of a District Court and includes a Deputy Registrar.

(13) In this section, fine has the meaning given to it in section 79 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Part 3
Matters of justification or excuse

Sentence or process

26 Execution of sentence, process, or warrant

(1) Every ministerial officer of any court authorised to execute a lawful sentence, and every prison manager of any prison, and every person lawfully assisting any such ministerial officer or prison manager, is justified in executing the sentence.

(2) Every ministerial officer of any court duly authorised to execute any lawful process of the court, whether of a civil or a criminal nature, and every person lawfully assisting him, is justified in executing it; and every prison manager required under the process to receive and detain any person is justified in receiving and detaining him.

(3) Every one duly authorised to execute a lawful warrant issued by any court or Justice or Community Magistrate or other person having jurisdiction to issue the warrant, and every person lawfully assisting him, is justified in executing the warrant; and every prison manager required under the warrant to receive and detain any person is justified in receiving and detaining him.


27 Execution of erroneous sentence or process

If a sentence is passed or a process is issued by a court having jurisdiction under any circumstances to pass such a sentence or issue such a process, or if a warrant is issued by a court or person having jurisdiction under any circumstances to issue such a warrant, the sentence passed or process or warrant is - sued shall be sufficient to justify the execution of it by every officer, prison manager, or other person authorised to execute it, and by every person lawfully assisting him, notwithstand¬ing that—

(a) the court passing the sentence or issuing the process had no authority to pass that sentence or issue that process in the particular case; or

(b) the court or other person issuing the warrant had no jurisdiction to issue it, or exceeded its or his jurisdiction in issuing it, in the particular case.


28 Sentence or process without jurisdiction

(1) Every officer, prison manager, or person executing any sentence, process, or warrant, and every person lawfully assisting him, shall be protected from criminal responsibility if—

(a) he acts in good faith under the belief that the sentence or process was that of a court having jurisdiction, or, as the case may be, that the warrant was that of a court, Justice, Community Magistrate, or other person having authority to issue warrants; and

(b) it is proved that the person passing the sentence or is - suing the process acted as such a court under colour of having some appointment or commission lawfully authorising him to act as such a court, or, as the case may require, that the person issuing the warrant acted as a Justice, Community Magistrate, or other person having authority to do so.

(2) This section shall apply notwithstanding that, in fact,—

(a) any such appointment or commission as aforesaid did not exist or had expired; or

(b) the court or the person passing the sentence or issuing the process was not the court or the person authorised by the appointment or commission to act; or

(c) the person issuing the warrant was not duly authorised to issue it.


29 Irregular warrant or process

(1) Every one acting under a warrant or process that is bad in law on account of some defect in substance or in form, apparent on the face of it, shall be protected from criminal responsibility to the same extent and subject to the same provisions as if the warrant or process were good in law if in good faith and without culpable ignorance or negligence he believed that the warrant or process was good in law; and ignorance of the law shall in this case be an excuse.

(2) It is a question of law whether the facts of which there is evidence do or do not constitute culpable ignorance or negligence in his so believing the warrant or process to be good in law.