In a criminal procedure file, when a deadline is counted in days, months or years, which day does the count start from, and what happens if the last day falls on a Saturday or public holiday?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the proof of service of the paper that starts the period, the date stamped when a notice or application was filed, and a calendar marking Saturdays and public holidays across the whole period, so each day the provision mentions can be identified.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading applies the general rules together: a period counted in hours starts immediately, a period counted in days, months or years does not count the first day, a period set by month or year runs in those units, and if the last day falls on a public holiday or Saturday that day is not counted, so the period reaches the next day that is neither.
Another reading takes the provisos at their word: for the statute of limitations and the detention period, the first day is counted as a whole day rather than by hours, and the rule excluding a last day that falls on a Saturday or public holiday does not apply, so in those two cases the deadline ends on the day the calendar shows rather than on the following day.
Your judgment
If the paper that starts the period was served on a Saturday, does the file show whether the counting rule or the proviso for the statute of limitations and detention period governs?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change what counts as a public holiday, for example by covering substitute holidays, or if a court decision settles which category a particular period belongs to.