CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT, 1964

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW AS TO THE IMPOSITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY AND AS TO MALICE IN THE CASE OF MURDER. [25th March, 1964.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Death penalty restricted.

1.—(1) A person shall not be liable to suffer death for any offence other than—

• (a) treason under the Treason Act, 1939;

• (b) capital murder, namely—

• (i) murder of a member of the Garda Síochána acting in the course of his duty, or

• (ii) murder of a prison officer acting in the course of his duty, or

• (iii) murder done in the course or furtherance of an offence under section 6, 7, 8 or 9 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939, or in the course or furtherance of the activities of an unlawful organisation within the meaning of section 18 (other than paragraph (f)) of that Act, or

• (iv) murder, committed within the State for a political motive, of the head of a foreign State or of a member of the government of, or a diplomatic officer of, a foreign State;

• (c) an offence by a person subject to military law under section 124, 125, 127 or 128 of the Defence Act, 1954.

• (2) In this section—

“diplomatic officer” means an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, chargé d'affaires, counsellor or secretary of embassy or legation, or attaché;

“prison” means any institution for which rules may be made under the Prisons Acts, 1826 to 1956, any prison, internment camp or place of detention for which regulations may be made under section 7 of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1940, any military prison or detention barrack for which rules may be made under section 233 of the Defence Act, 1954, and any internment camp for which regulations may be made under section 2 of the Prisoners of War and Enemy Aliens Act, 1956;

“prison officer” includes any member of the staff of a prison or of St. Patrick's Institution and any person having the custody of, or having duties in relation to the custody of, persons detained in any such place;

“St. Patrick's Institution” means the institution referred to by that name in the Criminal Justice Act, 1960.

2 Punishment in place of death.

2.—A person who but for this Act would be liable to suffer death shall be liable to penal servitude for life.

3 Procedure in capital murder cases.

3.—(1) Where a person is accused of murder which is alleged to be capital murder, he shall be charged with capital murder in the indictment.

• (2) A person indicted for capital murder may, if the evidence does not warrant a conviction for capital murder but warrants a conviction for murder, be found not guilty of capital murder but guilty of murder and, if the evidence does not warrant a conviction for murder but warrants a conviction for manslaughter, be found not guilty of capital murder but guilty of manslaughter.

• (3) Capital murder shall be treated as a distinct offence from murder for the purposes of an appeal against conviction.

• (4) On appeal against a conviction for capital murder the court may substitute a verdict of guilty of murder or guilty of manslaughter for the verdict of guilty of capital murder.

• (5) Subject to the foregoing subsections, capital murder shall not be treated as a distinct offence from murder for any purpose.

4 Malice.

4.—(1) Where a person kills another unlawfully the killing shall not be murder unless the accused person intended to kill, or cause serious injury to, some person, whether the person actually killed or not.

• (2) The accused person shall be presumed to have intended the natural and probable consequences of his conduct; but this presumption may be rebutted.

5 Amendment of Offences Against the Person Act, 1861.

5.—Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861 (which relate to conviction and sentence for murder) are hereby amended by the substitution, for “murder”, of “capital murder”.

6 Amendment of Piracy Act, 1837.

6.—The Piracy Act, 1837, is hereby amended by the deletion—

• (a) in section 2 (which relates to piracy with violence) of “and being convicted thereof shall suffer death as a felon”;

• (b) in section 4 (which relates to the punishment of accessories) of “with death or otherwise”.

7 Amendment of Juries Act, 1927.

7.—Section 63 of the Juries Act, 1927 (which relates to the separation of jurors during trials) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsections (1) and (2), for “murder”, of “capital murder”.

8 Amendment of Treason Act, 1939.

8.—Subsection (3) of section 1 of the Treason Act, 1939 (which relates to the form of trial for treason) is hereby amended by the substitution, for “murder”, of “capital murder”.

9 Amendment of Defence Act, 1954.

9.—Section 169 of the Defence Act, 1954 (which relates to the trial of certain civil offences by court-martial) is hereby amended by the deletion of paragraph (b) and the substitution of the following paragraph:

• “(b) if he is convicted of capital murder, be liable to suffer death and, if he is convicted of murder, be liable to suffer penal servitude for life;”.

10 Amendment of Geneva Conventions Act, 1962.

10.—Section 3 of the Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 (which relates to grave breaches of the Conventions scheduled to that Act) is hereby amended by the deletion, in paragraph (i) of subsection (1), of “death or to”.

11 Short title.

11.—This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act, 1964.