Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Bill of indictment definition

What does Bill of indictment mean? In criminal practice, a bill of indictment is the prosecutor’s written statement of the offences (counts) on which an accused will be tried on indictment. Across the UK and Ireland the document is now simply called an indictment; “bill of indictment” is largely historical, originating in the old grand jury process. In England and Wales, legislation still uses the phrase (for example, the Indictments Act 1915 and Criminal Procedure Rules, Part 10, on preferring a bill), but in practice the bill becomes the indictment once accepted and signed by the proper officer. A Crown Court trial (including in Northern Ireland)...

Voluntary Bills of Indictment (England and Wales): exceptional High Court route - grounds, procedure, defence responses, challenges and amendment under AJ(MP)A 1933 and CrimPR 2025

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Practice notes

Trials in the Crown Court

In England and Wales, Crown Court trials proceed ‘on Indictment’, meaning any defendant ‘tried on indictment’ appears before a judge and jury in the Crown Court in England and Wales. An indictment is the formal charge sheet alleging that one or more individuals committed a particular indictable or either way offence, and, in general, prosecuting counsel generally bears the responsibility for making sure the indictment for a criminal trial is drafted correctly. The procedural rules governing how an indictment must be drawn are comprehensively set out in Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909, Pt 10. For additional guidance, refer to the Practice Notes: The indictment and The indictment—content, form, defects and amendments. Only very rarely, and in limited circumstances, may the High Court direct that an indictment be served on the Crown Court; this procedure is termed a voluntary Bill of indictment. Exceptionally, an indictment can be preferred (ie served on a Crown Court) on the direction or with the consent of a High Court judge pursuant to the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1933 (AJ(MP)A 1933)...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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