Consultation on amendments to the Attorney General’s Code of Practice issued under Section 377A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales
Detail of outcome
A response to the consultation can be found in the draft Explanatory Memorandum that accompanies the draft Statutory Instrument that will bring the revised Code of Practice into effect. The draft Statutory Instrument, draft Explanatory Memorandum, and draft Code of Practice were laid in Parliament on 22 March and will be debated as part of Parliamentary procedure. These documents can be found at this page on legislation.gov.uk.
Original consultation
Consultation description
This consultation seeks views on amendments to the Code of Practice issued by the Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland under section 377A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The Code provides guidance for prosecutors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on the exercise of the investigation powers in Chapter 2 Part 8 of POCA. The Code will replace earlier codes issued under section 377A of POCA. The revised Code relates to the whole of the UK, and the only significant amendments to the Code are those that seek to apply the CFA to officers operating in Northern Ireland.
The Home Office and the Department of Justice, Northern Ireland, have published consultations in tandem with this one, which seek views on eight further Codes.
POCA contains a comprehensive legal framework for investigating, and the recovery of, the proceeds of crime. The existing guidance needs to be updated in advance of the full commencement of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA) amendments to POCA in Northern Ireland. Please note that the CFA’s amendments will not be commenced in Northern Ireland until the relevant secondary legislation is passed in Parliament and by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
POCA provides that when a Code of Practice is revised, the relevant authorities must prepare and publish a draft, they must consider any representations made and modify the Codes as appropriate, and they must lay the Codes before Parliament or the Northern Ireland Assembly (as appropriate) for approval.
The Home Office consultation is available here
The Department of Justice, Northern Ireland, consultation is available here
Documents
Last updated 25 March 2021 + show all updates
-
Added the link to legislation.gov.uk page.
-
Updated outcome of consultation.
-
First published.