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48.(1) Where a person is convicted before [the Crown Court] of an offence other than an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law, or is convicted by a court of summary jurisdiction of an offence punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment (including an indictable offence which may be tried summarily), and the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say (a)the court is satisfied, on the written or oral evidence of two medical practitioners (complying with the provisions of section fifty) that the offender is suffering from mental disorder of a nature or degree which would warrant his detention in hospital or his reception into guardianship under Part II; and (b)the court is of opinion, having regard to all the circumstances, including the nature of the offence and the character and antecedents of the offender, and to the other available methods of dealing with him, that the most suitable means of dealing with the case is by means of an order under this section; (2) Where a person is charged before a court of summary jurisdiction with any act or omission as an offence and the court would have power, on convicting him of that offence, to make an order under sub-section (1), then, if the court is satisfied that the accused did the act or made the omission charged, the court may, if it thinks fit, make such an order without convicting him. (3) An order placing a patient under the guardianship of any person shall not be made under this section unless the court is satisfied that that person is willing to receive the patient into guardianship. (4) A hospital order or guardianship order shall describe the patient as being mentally ill or as requiring special care, or in both those ways, and such an order shall not be made unless each of the practitioners whose evidence is taken into account under paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) (whether or not they also describe the patient in both those ways) describes the patient as being mentally ill or, as the case may be, as requiring special care. (5) Where an order is made under this section, the court shall not pass sentence of imprisonment or impose a fine or make a probation order in respect of the offence, but may make any other order which the court has power to make apart from this section; and for the purposes of this sub-section "sentence of imprisonment" includes any sentence or order for detention, including an order sending a person to a training school.
© 1961 Crown Copyright
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