Guidance

When to use Common Platform for prosecutions

Published 12 July 2024

Applies to England and Wales

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-use-hmcts-common-platform-for-prosecuting-organisations/when-to-use-common-platform-for-prosecutions

About Common Platform

Common Platform is for HMCTS, the judiciary, and professional court users, including prosecuting organisations.

As a prosecuting organisation, you can use Common Platform to manage:

  • single justice procedure (SJP) cases
  • postal requisitions 
  • summons

You can create a case in Common Platform in one of 2 ways: 

  1. Use the Common Platform Prosecutor Interface (CPPI) to create the case in Common Platform and send the documentation when you submit the case.

  2. Manually create individual cases on Common Platform and upload the relevant documentation to each specific case.

Before you start

To use the service, you must have an account. If you’re a case officer in a prosecuting organisation, contact your Common Platform administrator to register you for your account.

Register your organisation for Common Platform

Once your administrator has registered you, we will contact you with next steps.

Once your account is activated, you can start accessing case information in Common Platform.

Single justice procedure

The single justice procedure (SJP) is how we manage cases involving adults and companies charged with summary, non-imprisonable offences with no discernible victim.

We use an automated track case management (ATCM) service to process SJP cases on Common Platform from the receipt of the case in court through to the decision. This includes providing data on results, referrals to court and costs awarded.

ATCM improves on the process by enabling you to:

  • send cases when they are ready – no need to wait for a batch or to link to a specified session date
  • view the progress of cases in real time
  • receive case results through CPPI or download results at any time

It also means:

  • the defendant can plead online or send their plea to a bulk scanning facility to upload the plea to the case
  • the court can deal with any case as soon as a plea is received without waiting for a specific session

How SJP cases are prioritised

We will prioritise and review cases with pleas or requests in order of receipt. 

For example, if you issue a case on day 1 and a defendant pleads guilty online on day 2, the case will be ready for review as soon as the plea is submitted. 

If you request a withdrawal, it will be prioritised in a queue for review by a legal adviser with delegated authority.

Courts that manage SJP cases

SJP cases are considered by specific courts, depending on the type of prosecutor.

National prosecutors

Cases from national prosecutors are considered by legal advisers and magistrates across England and Wales. This includes cases brought by:

  • TV Licensing
  • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

Non-national prosecutors

Cases from prosecutors that operate in particular regions are considered by courts within those regions. For example:

  • Transport for London (TfL) cases are dealt with by courts in London
  • Hampshire police cases are dealt with by courts in the south west region
  • other transport company and local authority cases are dealt with by courts in the associated HMCTS regions

Exceptions

There are some exceptions:

  • Environment Agency cases are dealt with by courts in England, despite the location of the defendant’s address
  • some transport companies prosecute over more than one region

Postal requisitions and summons

A postal requisition is a notice telling a defendant what they have been charged with. It will contain the date and time that they must attend a particular court. 

A summons starts with your application, which is approved or refused by the court. If approved, a court, date and time is provided.

With Common Platform: 

  • you can send your postal requisition or summons either by using CPPI or manually creating the case
  • the defendant can plead online or send their plea to a bulk scanning facility which will upload the plea to the case
  • you will automatically receive notification of not guilty pleas directly
  • you can receive case results through CPPI or an informant register subscription
  • you can view the progress of cases in real time

Get help and guidance 

Your main contact for Common Platform is the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre (CTSC). 

Courts and Tribunals Service Centre
Telephone: 0330 808 4407
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Closed on bank holidays
Email: ProfessionalContactCrime@justice.gov.uk

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