The prosecution brought an appeal against a binding ruling, under s58 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and were required to give an “acquittal undertaking”.
The prosecution notified the court of its intention to appeal and gave the acquittal undertaking by email. The preliminary issue was did this satisfy the statutory scheme, or whether the steps specified in the statutory scheme must take place in open court.
The Court held that they could detect “no implicit requirement in the statute that the obligations to inform and request which we have identified in s58 must be performed orally in court. The statute is concerned that the steps are taken as required, not how they are taken.”