The summons

Serving the summons

1. Unless the court specifically agrees to do so, you should draft the summons. The summons should describe the offence in ordinary language and give sufficient detail of the alleged offence to amount to "reasonable information" of the nature of the allegation¹. As it should repeat the details contained in the Information, you should also follow the guidance set out in Drafting Informations when preparing the summons.
2. Subject to any particular requirements of the court, you should send three copies of each summons to the court with the Information(s). Unless the court has agreed to serve the summons, the original and copy summons will be returned to you to serve, having been signed by a justice of the peace or the Justices’ Clerk, and showing the date of the first hearing (known as the "return date").
3. You will normally serve the original summons on the defendant, which requires him/her to attend court on the given date and time. You should then return a copy of the original summons to the court with a certificate of service² (see below).
4. When received from the court, the summons should be served as soon as possible, and in any case must be served a reasonable time before the first hearing. ³ Magistrates have a judicial discretion to decline to proceed when service of a summons is delayed for so long as to be unconscionable, or where the delay has resulted in substantial prejudice to the accused. ⁴
5. A summons may be served on an individual or a corporation.
6. An individual defendant may be served with a summons ⁵ by:
   • handing it to him/her ⁶; or
   • sending it by first class post (or the equivalent of first class post) to an address where it is reasonably believed that s/he will receive it ⁷; or
   • leaving it at such an address.⁸

7. A corporate defendant may be served with a summons ⁹ by:
   • handing it to a person holding a senior position in the corporation ¹⁰; or
   • sending it by first class post (or the equivalent of first class post) to the corporation’s principal office in England and Wales, and if there is no readily identifiable principal office then any place in England and Wales where it carries on its activities or business ¹¹; or
   • leaving it at that principal office or other place of business ¹².

Proof of service

8. Service is normally proved by a certificate of service ¹³, which explains how and when the summons was served. The person who posts the summons, hands it over or leaves it at the appropriate address must complete the certificate of service. You should then return a copy of the original summons to the court with the certificate of service either endorsed on the back or attached. If service needs to be proved, that person will have to produce a statement and, if necessary, give evidence. It is therefore essential to keep a copy of the endorsed summons on file, with a record of when and how the endorsed copy was returned to the court.

Date of service

9. A summons served on an individual by handing it to him/her, and on a corporation by handing it to a person holding a senior position, is served on the day it is handed over ¹⁴.
10. A summons sent by first class post (or equivalent) is served on the second business day after the day on which it was posted or despatched, unless it is shown otherwise ¹⁵.
11. Where a summons is left at an address, it is deemed to have been served on the next business day after the day on which it was left ¹⁶.

Covering letter

12. The summons should be served with a covering letter, dealing with mode of trial, plea and the right to advance information. You should serve the Friskies schedule at the same time (see Factors relevant to sentencing). If service is proved, a court may proceed in the absence of the defendant¹⁷, although the courts’ power to do so is severely restricted. The overriding consideration is whether it is fair and just to proceed in the absence of the defendant.¹⁸

Defendant outside England or Wales

13. A summons requiring any person charged with an offence to appear before a court in England or Wales may be served in Scotland or Northern Ireland in the ways set out above. ¹⁹
14. The Secretary of State (UK Central Authority at the Home Office) may make arrangements for the service of a summons outside the UK requiring any person charged with an offence to appear before a court in the UK.²⁰ You should contact Legal Adviser’s Office (LAO) in all cases where you propose to serve a summons on a person outside of the UK. LAO will contact the UK Central Authority as necessary.
15. For further guidance on service of proceedings outside the UK, see Prosecution of foreign defendants.

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Footnotes

1. Rule 7.2 Criminal Procedure Rules 2005.
2. Rule 4.11 Criminal Procedure Rules (CPR) 2005.
3. R v North, ex parte Oakey [1927] 1 KB 491.
4. R v Watford Justices, ex parte Outrim [1982] LS Gaz R 920: summons served 22 months after issue.
5. Rule 4.7(1)(a) and (2)(a) CPR 2005.
6. Rule 4.3(1)(a) CPR 2005.
7. Rule 4.4(1) and (2)(a) CPR 2005.
8. Rule 4.4(1) and (2)(a) CPR 2005.
9. Rule 4.7(1)(b) and (2)(a) CPR 2005.
10. Rule 4.3(1)(b) CPR 2005.
11. Rule 4.4(1) and (2)(b) CPR 2005. A company’s principal office, for example, will be its registered office.
12. Rule 4.4(1) and (2)(b) CPR 2005.
13. Part 4.11 CPR 2005.
14. Rule 4.10(1) CPR 2005.
15. Rule 4.10(2)(b) CPR 2005.
16. Rule 4.10(2)(a) CPR 2005.
17. Magistrates Courts Act 1980, s.11.
18. See Article 6(1) ECHR and R v Hayward, R v Jones and R v Purvis [2001] EWCA Crim 168; [2001] QB 862.
19. Criminal Law Act 1977, s.39 and Part 4 CPR 2005. In a situation where a corporation in Scotland or Northern Ireland does not have a principal office in England and Wales or any place in England and Wales where it carries on its activities or business, you should contact Legal Adviser’s Office for further guidance on serving the summons.
20. Magistrates’ Courts (Crime (International Co-operation)) Rules 2004 (S.I. 2004 No.1048) and the Crown Court (Amendment) Rules 2004 (S.I. 2004 No.1047).