89Disposal of other pending charges

89 Disposal of other pending charges

(1)  If a court finds a person guilty of an offence (in this section called "the principal offence") and the court is satisfied that –

(a) there has been filed in court a document in the prescribed form showing a list of other offences, whether indictable or summary, not being or including treason or murder, that the offender is believed to have committed; and

(b) a copy of that document has been provided to the offender; and

(c) in all the circumstances it is proper to do so –

the court may, with the consent of the prosecution, before passing sentence, ask the offender whether the offender admits having committed any or all of the listed offences and wishes them to be taken into account by the court when passing sentence for the principal offence.

(2)  A document referred to in subsection (1) is to be signed by –

(a) the DPP or prosecuting counsel on the DPP's behalf; and

(b) the offender.

(3)  If the offender admits to having committed any or all of the listed offences and wishes them to be taken into account, the court may, if it thinks fit, do so but it must not impose a sentence in respect of the principal offence in excess of the maximum sentence that might have been imposed if no listed offence had been taken into account.

(4)  If an offence is taken into account under this section, the court may make any order that it would have been empowered to make under Part 9 had the offender been convicted before the court of the offence but it must not otherwise impose any separate punishment for the offence.

(5)  An order made under subsection (4) in respect of an offence taken into account may be appealed against as if it had been made on the conviction of the offender for that offence.

(6)  Notwithstanding subsection (3) , a court must not take into account any charge of an indictable offence that it would not have jurisdiction to try even with the consent of the person charged with that offence.

(7)  The court must certify, on the relevant part of the document referred to in , any listed offences that have been so taken into account and the principal offence in respect of which this has been done.