Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 (revoked)

Summary

The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 were the consolidated procedural code for criminal cases in the magistrates' courts, the Crown Court and the criminal jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal and High Court in England & Wales, made by the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee under s.69 of the Courts Act 2003 and in force from 5 October 2020. They are no longer in force: the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee revoked them and replaced them with the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (SI 2025/909 (L. 7)), made 15 July 2025 and in force from 6 October 2025, which re-consolidated the rules together with their many amendments. The 2025 Rules preserve the familiar architecture — the overriding objective that criminal cases be dealt with justly (Part 1), active case management (Part 3), and Parts 1–50 running from starting a prosecution through trial, sentencing, confiscation, appeals, investigation orders, contempt, international co-operation and extradition — so practitioner references to 'CrimPR' part numbers generally carry across. Anyone researching current criminal procedure should consult the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 and the accompanying Criminal Practice Directions, not the 2020 Rules, which remain relevant only historically for steps taken while they were in force (October 2020 – October 2025).

Key Points

• REVOKED: the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 were revoked with effect from 6 October 2025 by the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (SI 2025/909 (L. 7)) — legislation.gov.uk titles the instrument 'The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (revoked)'
• The 2025 Rules are the current criminal procedure code; they were made 15 July 2025 under s.69 of the Courts Act 2003 and came into force on 6 October 2025
• The overriding objective — that criminal cases be dealt with justly, including acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty, dealing with the prosecution and defence fairly, and respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors (Part 1) — is carried forward into the 2025 Rules
• The rules imposed active case management duties on the court and participants (Part 3), and covered the full life of a criminal case across Parts 1–50
• While in force (5 October 2020 – 5 October 2025) the 2020 Rules were amended by regular amending instruments, typically twice a year
• The 2020 Rules had themselves replaced the Criminal Procedure Rules 2015 in the same consolidation cycle — the Rule Committee periodically re-consolidates the code
• The Criminal Practice Directions (issued by the Lord Chief Justice) supplement the Rules and were reissued alongside the consolidations
• Steps validly taken under the 2020 Rules before revocation remain effective; current proceedings are governed by the 2025 Rules

Amendments History