Forced to Attend Your Sentencing? Not Yet Law

New criminal court rules came into force on 5 October 2026, and they include a step-by-step procedure for ordering a defendant in custody to attend their own sentencing hearing. That procedure is written down, but it is switched off, because the law it depends on has not been brought into force.

This matters because the headlines about offenders being "forced to face justice" have been running for over a year, and people in prison and their families are being told things about it that are not yet true. Here is what has actually happened, and what has not.

What changed on 5 October 2026

The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026 came into force. These are the rules that tell criminal courts how to run a case: what notice has to be given, by when, and to whom. They were made on 29 June 2026 and most of them started on 5 October 2026.

The amendments that started cover a mixed bag of practical court procedure. Among them: new directions for video-recorded cross-examination of witnesses, wider powers for justices' legal advisers at a defendant's first appearance after police station charge, a duty to notify the court of an outstanding arrest warrant, changes to interim driving disqualification, and a revised deadline for the Attorney General to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient. None of those are the change people have been reading about.

The attendance rule is written but not running

The same instrument rewrites Part 25 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, which governs what happens in the Crown Court after conviction. One of the new provisions sets out how a court orders a defendant in custody to attend sentencing, and requires the court to explain that not complying is a contempt of court.

But the commencement rule is specific. That part of the amendment comes into force only when section 1 of the Victims and Courts Act 2026 comes into force.

Section 1 is not in force. On legislation.gov.uk it is marked "Prospective", with the note: "S. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 18(1)." Royal Assent was 29 April 2026. Section 18(1) of the Act says those provisions start "on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument appoint".

So far only one set of commencement regulations has been made under the Act. It brought section 7 and part of Schedule 2 into force on 13 August 2026. Section 1 was not included.

In plain terms: the court rule is ready and waiting, and the power it serves does not exist yet.

What the power would do when it starts

The Act inserts new provisions, sections 41A and 41B, dealing with attendance at sentencing hearings. On the face of the legislation:

• The Crown Court may order an offender who is detained in custody and awaiting sentence to attend court for the sentencing hearing. The prosecutor may apply for such an order.
• Before making an order against someone under 18, the court must consult the relevant youth offending team.
• For an offender aged 18 or over, a relevant officer may use reasonable force, if necessary and proportionate, in delivering the offender to court. Relevant officers include prison officers, young offender institution officers and prisoner custody officers.
• Failing to comply with an order without reasonable excuse is a criminal contempt of court. Section 41B then deals with the consequence. Where an offender aged 18 or over commits contempt, either by not complying with an attendance order or by disrupting the hearing, and is being sentenced to imprisonment or detention, the court may make a "prison sanctions order". The sanctions available correspond to prison disciplinary punishments, up to maximum periods. Those sanction types and maximums are to be set by the Secretary of State in regulations, which also have not been made.
• For 18 to 20 year olds, such an order can only be made if they are detained in a prison or a designated young offender institution. Similar provisions are made for the Court Martial and the Service Civilian Court.

Why "not in force" is the whole point

An Act of Parliament receiving Royal Assent does not change the law on that day. Most provisions start later, on a date the government chooses by regulations, and some never start at all.

That is not a technicality for someone awaiting sentence. A court cannot make an order under a power that is not in force. A prison officer cannot use force to take someone to court under a provision that has not started. And no punishment can be imposed under a scheme whose maximum penalties have not yet been written into regulations.

Equally, nobody should read this article as a reason to refuse to attend court. A Crown Court already has its own long-standing powers to manage a defendant who refuses to come up or who disrupts a hearing, and a sentencing judge who has been messed about is not a judge anyone wants. Sentencing also happens whether the defendant is in the dock or not.

What this means for you

If you are in custody waiting to be sentenced. The attendance order power is not available to the court today. If anyone tells you that you can now be dragged to court and given extra days for refusing, that is not the law as it stands on 7 October 2026. Watch for commencement regulations, which is the moment it would change.

If you are supporting someone through sentencing. Attending sentencing is almost always better for the person being sentenced, whatever the law says. The judge sees the person rather than an empty dock, and mitigation lands differently. That is a practical point, not a legal one.

If you have already been sentenced. None of this reaches back. A sentence passed lawfully under the law in force at the time does not become unlawful because Parliament later adds a new procedure. If you think something went wrong in your case, the grounds have to come from what happened in your own hearing.

If you are reading about reforms generally. The honest filter is three questions. Has it received Royal Assent? Have commencement regulations been made? Do the supporting court rules apply yet? Until all three are yes, nothing has changed in a live case.

Where an independent review can help

Case Review UK provides independent written assessments of criminal cases by senior UK lawyers and barristers, at the pre-trial, post-sentence and post-appeal stages. We are independent of the police, the CPS and the court that dealt with your case. Fixed fee, no hourly billing. You send the documents securely and you get a written report in 7 to 14 days that says honestly what the paperwork shows.

WhatsApp: +44 7417 361696
Email: enquiries@casereviewuk.co.uk

This article is general information about the law in England and Wales as at 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice on any individual case, and a case review is not a substitute for a solicitor.