This is a list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1955 .
16-567: The Crown Court at Southwark , usually referred to as Southwark Crown Court , is a Crown Court venue at 1 English Grounds (off Battlebridge Lane) on the south bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in London. It operates within the South Eastern Region of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service . Until the 1980s, the principal criminal court for south London
32-423: A circular layout, but the overall positioning of elements will remain the same. 4 %26 5 Eliz. 2 Acts passed before 1963 are cited by the regnal year(s) in which the relevant parliamentary session was held, as opposed to the convention used for later acts of citing the calendar year. Each act passed in a respective session is given a chapter number (abbreviated "c."), denoted by Arabic numerals in
48-612: A system of courts of assize and quarter sessions for indictment trials at first instance. However, the Beeching Commission in 1969 recommended the replacement of the assize system, following the model of the 'crown courts' introduced by the Criminal Justice Administration Act 1956 ( 4 & 5 Eliz. 2 . c. 34). in Liverpool and Manchester. As such, the current Crown Court was established on 1 January 1972 by
64-567: The Courts Act 1971 , establishing a unitary trial court for the whole jurisdiction. With the merger of the various court services into what is now HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Crown Court frequently shares facilities with the County Court and magistrates' courts. The Crown Court carries out four principal types of activity: The average time from receipt by the Crown Court to completion
80-527: The Crown Court. This means that only barristers , solicitor advocates , and some chartered legal executives can represent clients. Solicitors may choose to attend hearings, but they are not able to speak directly. The court is primarily administered by the Clerk of Court, who wears a white collar/bib with bands and a black gown. They are assisted by the Court Usher, who is the only person that will move when
96-406: The case of public general acts , lowercase Roman numerals in the case of local acts , or italicised Arabic numerals in the case of personal acts . These run as separate series. 85 acts of Parliament were passed in 1955: 48 public general acts, 36 local acts and 1 personal act. [REDACTED] indicates that an act is available to view at legislation.gov.uk , and [REDACTED] indicates
112-561: The country and the main serious fraud centre for the area. Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of the publicist, Max Clifford , in April 2014, for indecent assault, the trial and conviction of the entertainer, Rolf Harris , in June 2014, for indecent assault, the trial and conviction of the disc jockey, Dave Lee Travis , in September 2014, for indecent assault, the trial and conviction of
128-549: The court is in session and will wear a gown over standard business dress. Court dress is almost always worn, although wigs may be removed during exceptional circumstances when directed by the judge - for example, when children are testifying. There are several physical elements to a Crown Court. From the position of the defendant: Different courts may have different layouts. Some, often older courts may have very compact layouts - like Gloucester Crown Court - or some, often newer courts may be very spacious. Some courts may have
144-675: The criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the Supreme Court . In all other cases, appeal from the Crown Court lies by way of case stated to a Divisional Court of the High Court. The judges who normally sit in the Crown Court are High Court judges , circuit judges and recorders . Allocation of cases is conducted according to directions given by the Lord Chief Justice . Higher rights of audience are required to speak in
160-662: The decisions of magistrates' courts . It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wales . The Crown Court sits in around 92 locations in England and Wales , divided into Circuits . When sitting in the City of London , it is known as the Central Criminal Court or "Old Bailey". The Crown Court is administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service , an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice . England and Wales formerly used
176-577: The empty site was acquired by the Lord Chancellor's Department at a cost of £2 million. The new building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the modern style , built in yellow brick at a cost of £12.6 million, and was opened in 1983. The design involved a broadly symmetrical three-storey main frontage facing south onto English Grounds. It featured a long flat portico which was projected forward and supported by brick columns; it
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#1732852876986192-610: The tennis player, Boris Becker , in April 2022, for breaches of the Insolvency Act , and the trial and conviction of former chief executive of the Formula One Group, Bernie Ecclestone , for fraud in October 2023. Crown Court The Crown Court ( Welsh : Llys y Goron ) is the criminal court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences , some either way offences and appeals of
208-401: Was 177 days by the start of 2016. The Crown Court can hear appeals against conviction, sentence or both from those convicted in the magistrates' courts. Under this procedure, the Crown Court has the power to confirm, reject or alter any part of a decision. It may impose any sentence within the powers of a magistrate. In 2015 the Crown Court heard 11,348 appeals and the average waiting time
224-412: Was 8.8 weeks in 2015. Defendants may be committed from a magistrates' court where its sentencing powers are inadequate. This could be because: Committals may also arise from breaches of the terms of a Community Order or a suspended custodial sentence. In 2015, the Crown Court dealt with 30,802 cases for sentencing from the magistrates' courts. From Crown Court trials on indictment, appeal lies to
240-419: Was fenestrated by small square casement windows on the ground floor and by rectangular casement windows on the first and second floors, and there was an additional, taller block behind the main frontage. A Royal coat of arms was mounted on the left hand side of the main frontage at first floor level. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate 15 courtrooms, making it the fourth largest court centre in
256-568: Was the Sessions House in Newington Causeway . However, as the number of criminal cases in south London grew, it became necessary to commission additional courthouse capacity for south London. The site selected, on the south bank of the River Thames, had been occupied by a large warehouse known as "Willson's Wharf", which was badly damaged in a fire in August 1971. The warehouse was demolished and
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