(1)Section 16(2) and (3) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 (c. 37) (offences committed by person under 14 disregarded for purposes of evidence relating to previous convictions) shall cease to have effect.
(2)In proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by the defendant when aged 21 or over, evidence of his conviction for an offence when under the age of 14 is not admissible unless—
(a)both of the offences are triable only on indictment, and
(b)the court is satisfied that the interests of justice require the evidence to be admissible.
(2A)Subsection (2B) applies where—
(a)
the defendant has been convicted of an offence under the law of any country outside England and Wales (“the previous offence”), and
(b)
the previous offence would constitute an offence under the law of England and Wales (“the corresponding offence”) if it were done in England and Wales at the time of the proceedings for the offence with which the defendant is now charged.
(2B)For the purposes of subsection (2), the previous offence is to be regarded as triable only on indictment if the corresponding offence is so triable.
(3)Subsection (2) applies in addition to section 101.
Cases considering section 108 5
[2015] EWCA Crim 857 · 21 April 2015Limits
The court treated the limited statutory safeguards in Section 108 as providing no basis to infer an inherent unfairness in admitting a young defendant’s convictions outside the express statutory conditions. (see [19])
The provision did not literally apply. The court held that it left no room for a near-miss extension, while requiring particular care in applications involving a young defendant. (see [18]-[20])
[2014] EWCA Crim 1053 · 8 May 2014Disapplies
The court held that section 108 was inapplicable because the appellant was not aged over 21 when the charged offence was allegedly committed. It rejected any near-miss use of the section. (see para [19])
The court interpreted the subsection according to its express age condition: it applies only where the offence charged was committed or alleged to have been committed when the defendant was aged 21 or over. It therefore did not apply to a defendant aged 20. (see paras [16]; [19])
The court treated the provision preserving the additional operation of section 108(2) alongside section 101 as immaterial because section 108(2) itself did not apply. (see paras [16]; [19])
[2008] EWCA Crim 1850 · 17 July 2008
Although framed in terms of convictions, the court held that the principles of this provision should govern alleged misconduct committed when the defendant was under 14 and offered as bad-character evidence. The alternative would create an unjustified anomaly between convictions and their underlying conduct. (see paras [11]-[14])
The court held that the alleged offence disclosed by JB’s statement was indecent assault, which was triable either way. The indictment-only condition was therefore not satisfied, so the evidence should have been ruled inadmissible on the information before the trial judge. (see paras [13]-[14])
What each judgment says about section 108 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.
387.Section 108 deals with the admissibility of certain juvenile convictions. Subsection (1) repeals section 16(2) and (3) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963. That provision precludes the use in evidence of certain juvenile convictions (those relating to offences committed under the age of 14) in a trial for an offence committed over the age of 21.
388.The admissibility of this evidence will instead fall under the general scheme for admitting evidence of bad character set out in this Part, but will also have to satisfy the two further requirements of subsection (2). The additional requirements are:
that the offence for which the defendant is being tried and the offence for which the defendant was convicted are triable only on indictment; and
that the court is satisfied that the interests of justice require the evidence to be admissible.