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Criminal Justice Act 2003

This legislation, amongst other things, (1) made amendments to the MHA 1983, and (2) states that the victim surcharge does not apply when the court makes an order under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Detail

Amendments to MHA 1983:

  • Section 294 and 295 amend MHA 1983 s50 and s74 respectively.
  • Schedule 3 Part 2 amends s43 and s52.
  • Schedule 32 amends s37 and s45A MHA 1983.

Victim surcharge:

  • Section 161A(1) states: "A court when dealing with a person for one or more offences must also (subject to subsections (2) and (3)) order him to pay a surcharge."
  • Section 161A(4) states: "For the purposes of this section a court does not “deal with” a person if it ... (b) makes an order under the Mental Health Act 1983 in respect of him."
Section 258 covers early release for contempt of court.