Attorney General's Permission

[Peter Pedant]

At Mold a recent case was halted because the attorney general's permission to prosecute had not been sought: R v Wm O'Brien and others
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/alleged-conspiracy-supply-cannabis-trial-6483634

Any idea, anyone, when it is required and when it is not ?

and a wasted costs order .... how does that differ from costs alone ?

Thanks

[FredPuli43]

Odd. The key fact is that the conspiracy was to supply in Scotland, that is within a different jurisdiction to that of England and Wales.Without the A-G's fiat the trial could only be in Scotland.

There are quite a number of offences that require such consent before proceedings are instituted. Archbold does not give a list but notes when it is required for individual offences instead. It is certainly required for offences under the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Explosive Substances Act 1883.

The A-G can also take over and stop prosecutions, a power generally used when someone has brought a private prosecution of no merit, issuing what is called a 'nolly' by practitioners but is properly a 'nolle prosequi' .

[FredPuli43]

Waste costs are costs thrown away in the proceedings, to be considered when costs are finally calculated.

[Orderlimit]

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/consent_to_prosecute/

offences:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/consent_to_prosecute/#b01