Part VII
- (a) a person is held in custody in a prison or other place by virtue of a direction, and
- (b) the direction ceases to have effect (whether or not by reason of the expiry or cesser of section 70),
it shall be lawful for him to continue to be held in custody in that prison or place until arrangements can be made for him to be held in custody in accordance with the law then applicable to his case.
(4) Nothing in subsection (3) shall be taken as permitting the holding in custody of a person who is entitled to be released from custody.
Time limits for preliminary proceedings. 72.—(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision, in respect of a specified preliminary stage of proceedings for a scheduled offence, as to the maximum period—
- (a) to be allowed to the prosecution to complete the stage;
- (b) during which the accused may, while awaiting completion of the stage, be in the custody of a magistrates’ court or the Crown Court in relation to the offence.
(2) The regulations may, in particular—
- (a) provide for a specified law about bail to apply in relation to cases to which custody or overall time limits apply (subject to any modifications which the Secretary of State considers it necessary
to specify in the regulations);
- (b) provide for time limits to cease to have effect in cases where the Attorney General for Northern Ireland certifies after the institution of proceedings that an offence is not to be treated as a scheduled offence;
- (c) make such provision with respect to the procedure to be followed in criminal proceedings as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in consequence of another provision of the regulations;
- (d) make provision which has effect in relation to a non-scheduled offence where separate counts of an indictment allege a scheduled offence and a non-scheduled offence;
- (e) enable the Crown Court in specified circumstances to extend or further extend a time limit at any time before it expires.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), where an overall time limit expires before the completion of the stage of proceedings to which the limit applies, the accused shall be treated for all purposes as having been acquitted of the offence to which the proceedings relate.
(4) Regulations under this section which provide for a custody time limit in relation to a preliminary stage shall have no effect where—
- (a) a person escapes from the custody of a magistrates’ court or the Crown Court before the expiry of the custody time limit,
- (b) a person who has been released on bail in consequence of the expiry of a custody time limit fails to surrender himself into the custody of the court at the appointed time, or
- (c) a person who has been released on bail in consequence of the expiry of a custody time limit is arrested by a constable in connection with a breach or apprehended breach of a condition of his bail.
