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Section 224: General limit on magistrates' court's power to impose imprisonment or detention in a young offender institution

Sentencing Act 2020 · 2020 c. 17View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 10: Custodial sentences — CHAPTER 1: Custody: general provisions

A magistrates' court does not have power to impose—

imprisonment, or
detention in a young offender institution,

for a term exceeding the applicable limit in respect of any one offence.

The applicable limit is—

6 months in the case of a summary offence, or
12 months in the case of an offence triable either way.

Unless expressly excluded, subsection (1) applies even if the offence in question is one for which a person would otherwise be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment or detention in a young offender institution for a term exceeding the applicable limit.

Nothing in subsection (1) affects section 133 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (consecutive terms of imprisonment).

Subsection (1) does not limit any power of a magistrates' court to impose a term of imprisonment for—

non-payment of a fine, or
want of sufficient goods to satisfy a fine.

In subsection (4)—

“fine”—
includes a pecuniary penalty, but
does not include a pecuniary forfeiture or pecuniary compensation;
the reference to want of sufficient goods to satisfy a fine is a reference to circumstances where—
there is power to use the procedure in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 to recover the fine from a person, but
it appears, after an attempt has been made to exercise the power, that the person's goods are insufficient to pay the amount outstanding (as defined by paragraph 50(3) of that Schedule).

In this section “impose imprisonment” means—

pass a sentence of imprisonment, or
fix a term of imprisonment for—
failure to pay any sum of money,
want of sufficient distress to satisfy any sum of money (see section 397(3)), or
failure to do or abstain from doing anything required to be done or left undone.

Section 132 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (5 day minimum term) provides for the minimum term of imprisonment that a magistrates' court may impose.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.