The Magistrates' Courts (Notice of Transfer) (Children’s Evidence) Rules 1992
These Rules make provision for the procedure to be followed in magistrates' courts where a notice of transfer is given under section 53 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, which comes into force on 1st October 1992. Under section 53 of that Act, the Director of Public Prosecutions may give to a magistrates' court a notice of transfer in respect of a case proceeding in that court if the offence charged is a sexual offence or involves violence or cruelty and was allegedly either witnessed by, or committed against, a child. The effect of a notice of transfer is to avoid committal proceedings in such cases, but the magistrates' court to which a notice of transfer is given under section 53 retains certain functions, set out in that section and in Schedule 6 to the Act, in respect of the grant or withholding of bail, legal aid and the making of witness orders pending the Crown Court trial.