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<p>The Crown Prosecution Service is working to to protect the interests of victims
and witnesses by ensuring that defendants properly remanded in custody remain in custody.</p><p>Custody
Time Limits (CTLs) apply to all cases in which a defendant has been remanded in custody
pending trial. Those time limits can be extended if the courts are satisfied that
there is good and sufficient cause and if the prosecution have acted with all due
diligence and expedition. The adjournment of criminal trials may require an extension
of a CTL.</p><p>Following the suspension of jury trials the CPS agreed a Protocol
for Custody Time Limit Cases with the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales
and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The Protocol is a temporary
framework during the Coronavirus pandemic for the efficient handling of cases that
involve a custody time limit. The Protocol sets out an agreed process for the listing
and handling of CTL cases; an agreed understanding of the law in the context of the
Coronavirus pandemic; and arrangements for information sharing.</p><p>The courts consider
the issue of bail at each hearing and on any application for bail made by a defendant.
Should the court decide to grant bail, whether at the end of any CTL or at another
hearing, the court can impose conditions to ensure that a suspect does not interfere
with witnesses or obstruct the course of justice, including the electronic monitoring
of suspects.</p>
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