Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“Act of 1924” means the Courts of Justice Act, 1924;

“Act of 1951” means the Criminal Justice Act, 1951;

“Act of 1967” means the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967;

“Act of 1994” means the Criminal Justice Act, 1994;

“member” means a member of the Garda Síochána.

(2) A reference in this Act to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

(3) A reference in this Act to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted, whether before or after the commencement of this section, by or under any subsequent enactment, including this Act.

2 Amendment of section 4 of Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

2.—The Criminal Justice Act, 1984, is hereby amended, in section 4—

(a) by the insertion in subsection (2), after “without warrant”, of “or pursuant to an authority of a judge of the District Court under section 10 (1)”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (5):

“(5) If at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section there are no longer reasonable grounds for believing that his detention is necessary for the proper investigation of the offence to which the detention relates, he shall, subject to subsection (6), be released from custody forthwith unless he is charged or caused to be charged with an offence and is brought before a court as soon as may be in connection with such charge or his detention is authorised apart from this Act.

(6) If at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section a member of the Garda Síochána, with reasonable cause, suspects that person of having committed an offence to which this section applies, other than an offence to which the detention relates, and the member of the Garda Síochána then in charge of the Garda Síochána station has reasonable grounds for believing that the continued detention of that person is necessary for the proper investigation of that other offence, the person may continue to be detained in relation to the other offence as if that offence was the offence for which the person was originally detained.”,

(c) by the insertion, after subsection (8), of the following subsection:

“(8A) Where a person detained pursuant to subsection (2) is taken to a court in connection with an application relating to the lawfulness of his detention, the time during which he is absent from the station for that purpose shall be excluded in reckoning a period of detention permitted by this section.”, and

(d) by the substitution, in subsection (9), of “subsection (6), (8) or (8A)” for “subsection (6) or (8)”.

3 Station bail.

3.—Section 31 of the Act of 1967 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Whenever a person is brought in custody to a Garda Síochána station by a member of the Garda Síochána, the sergeant or other member in charge of the station may, if he considers it prudent to do so and no warrant directing the detention of that person is in force, release him on bail and for that purpose take from him a recognisance, with or without sureties, for his due appearance—

(a) before the District Court at the next sitting thereof in the District Court Area in which that person has been arrested or at any subsequent sitting thereof in that District Court Area during the period of thirty days immediately following such next sitting, or

(b) in the case of the District Court in the Dublin Metropolitan District, before the next sitting of that Court or at any subsequent sitting thereof during the period of thirty days immediately following such next sitting.”,

(b) the deletion of the second sentence in subsection (3),

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(3A) Any recognisance taken under this section, or any sum of money accepted under this section in lieu of a surety or sureties, shall be given, by the member of the Garda Síochána taking the said recognisance or receiving the said sum of money, to the District Court clerk for the District Court Area in which the sitting of the Court to which the person has been remanded is situated.”, and

(d) by the insertion of the following subsection:

“(5) The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the provisions of section 94 of the Children Act, 1908.”.

4 Extending periods of remand in custody.

4.—The Act of 1967 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 24 (amended by section 8 (2) of the Courts (No. 2) Act, 1986):

“24. (1) The Court shall not remand a person, on the occasion of that person's first appearance before the Court charged with a particular offence, for a period exceeding eight days, except where this section otherwise provides.

(2) The Court may remand a person on bail for a period that is longer than eight days if the person and the prosecutor consent.

(3) The Court may remand a person in custody (other than on the occasion of that person's first appearance before the Court charged with a particular offence) for a period not exceeding fifteen days, save that where the Court is of opinion that in all the circumstances it would be unreasonable to remand the person in custody for a period of fifteen days, the period of remand shall be such period of less than fifteen days as the Court considers appropriate.

(4) The Court may remand a person in custody (other than on the occasion of that person's first appearance before the Court charged with a particular offence), for a period exceeding fifteen days but not exceeding thirty days, if the person and the prosecutor consent.

(5) (a) If the Court is satisfied that a person who has been remanded in custody is unable by reason of illness or accident to be brought before the Court at the expiration of the period of remand, the Court may, in that person's absence, remand that person for such further period, which may exceed fifteen days, as the Court considers reasonable.

(b) If the Court is satisfied that a person who has been remanded on bail is unable by reason of illness or accident to appear before the Court at the expiration of the period of remand, the Court may, in that person's absence, remand that person for such further period, which may exceed eight days, as the Court considers reasonable.

(6) (a) Where a person has been remanded in custody and there is no sitting of the Court on the day to which he has been remanded, that person shall stand so remanded to the sitting of the Court next held in the same District Court District.

(b) Where a person has been remanded on bail and there is no sitting of the Court on the day to which he has been remanded, that person shall stand so remanded to the sitting of the Court next held in the same District Court Area.”.

5 Jurisdiction of District Court and place of remand.

5.—(1) Notwithstanding section 27 (3) of the Courts of Justice Act, 1953, the court before which a person first appears charged with a particular offence or a judge of the District Court exercising jurisdiction under subsection (2) of section 79 of the Act of 1924 (inserted by section 41 of the Courts and Court Officers Act, 1995) may remand that person in custody to appear at a sitting of the District Court (“alternative court”) in the District Court District in which the prison or place of detention where he or she is to be held in custody is situated or a District Court District adjoining the first-mentioned District Court District.

(2) The alternative court may, from time to time, as occasion requires, further remand a person, referred to in subsection (1) of the said section 79, in custody or on bail, to that court or to another alternative court.

(3) An alternative court shall, for the purposes of the conduct of a preliminary examination under the Act of 1967 in relation to a person, or, as the case may be, the trial of a person, remand the person to a sitting of the court in the District Court District—

(a) in which the offence to which the preliminary examination or trial relates was committed, or

(b) in which the person resides or was arrested.

(4) The said section 79 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) A judge of the District Court exercising jurisdiction under subsection (2) shall not have jurisdiction to—

(a) conduct a preliminary examination under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, or

(b) try an accused for an offence, unless that jurisdiction is exercised in the District Court District—

(i) in which the offence was committed, or

(ii) in which the accused resides or was arrested.”.

(5) Subsection (4) of the said section 79 shall not apply to an alternative court.

(6) Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962, is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) If it appears to the District Court before which a person is charged with an offence or an alternative court within the meaning of section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1997 before which a person is appearing—

(a) that the means of the person before it are insufficient to enable him to obtain legal aid, and

(b) that by reason of the gravity of the offence with which he is charged or of exceptional circumstances it is essential in the interests of justice that he should have legal aid in the preparation and conduct of his defence before it,

the said District Court or the alternative court, as may be appropriate, shall, on application being made to it in that behalf, grant a certificate, in respect of him, for free legal aid (in this Act referred to as a legal aid (District Court) certificate) and thereupon he shall be entitled to such aid and to have a solicitor and (where he is charged with murder and the said District Court or the alternative court, as the case may be, thinks fit) counsel assigned to him for that purpose in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under section 10 of this Act.”.

6 Certificates of evidence relating to certain matters.

6.—(1) Where a person, who has been arrested otherwise than under a warrant, first appears before the District Court charged with an offence, a certificate purporting to be signed by a member and stating that that member did, at a specified time and place, any one or more of the following namely—

(a) arrested that person for a specified offence,

(b) charged that person with a specified offence, or

(c) cautioned that person upon his or her being arrested for, or charged with, a specified offence,

shall be admissible as evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.

(2) In any criminal proceedings a certificate purporting to be signed by a member and stating that—

(a) that member did any one or more of the following namely—

(i) commenced duty, or replaced a specified member on duty, at a specified time at a place—

(I) where the offence to which such proceedings relate is alleged to have been committed,

(II) adjacent to the place referred to in clause I of this subparagraph, or

(III) containing evidence of the offence to which the proceedings relate,

or

(ii) remained on duty at a place referred to in subparagraph (i) until a specified time or until replaced at a specified time by a specified member,

or

(b) in relation to a place referred to in paragraph (a) no person entered upon that place during a specified period without the permission of that member and that no evidence at that place was disturbed while he or she was on duty at that place,

shall be admissible as evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.

(3) Where a person enters upon a place referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) at a time when a member is on duty at that place, a certificate referred to in the said subsection shall state the name of that person and the purpose for which that person was permitted to enter upon that place.

(4) In any criminal proceedings the court may, if it considers that the interests of justice so require, direct that oral evidence of the matters stated in a certificate under this section be given, and the court may for the purpose of receiving oral evidence adjourn the proceedings to a later date.

(5) A certificate under this section shall be tendered in evidence by a member not below the rank of sergeant.

(6) Upon the laying of a charge sheet and recognisance before the District Court, the court shall require the person (if any) present and to whom the charge sheet and recognisance relate, to identify himself or herself, and accordingly, on being so required, the person shall identify himself or herself, as the case may be, to the court.

(7) The Minister for Justice may, by regulations, prescribe the form of a certificate under this section.

7 Recording of evidence.

7.—The Act of 1924 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 33:

“33. (1) The appeal, in case such certificate or leave to appeal is granted, shall be heard and determined by the Court of Criminal Appeal (‘the court’) on—

(a) a record of the proceedings at the trial and on a transcript thereof verified by the judge before whom the case was tried, and

(b) where the trial judge is of opinion that the record or transcript referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection does not reflect what took place during the trial, a report by him as to the defects which he considers such record or transcript, as the case may be, contains,

with power to the court to hear new or additional evidence, and to refer any matter for report by the said judge.

(2) Where the court is of opinion that either the record or the transcript thereof is defective in any material particular, it may determine the appeal in such manner as it considers, in all the circumstances, appropriate.

(3) In this section, ‘record’ includes, in addition to a record in writing—

(a) shorthand notes, or a disc, tape, soundtrack or other device in which information, sounds or signals are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in legible or audible form,

(b) a film tape or other device in which visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other instrument) of being reproduced in visual form, and

(c) a photograph.

(4) Section 97 of the Act of 1924 is hereby repealed.”.

8 Consent of Director of Public Prosecutions to summary disposal of certain offences.

8.—Section 2 of the Act of 1951 (amended by section 19 of the Act of 1967) is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) The District Court may try summarily a person charged with a scheduled offence if—

(a) the Court is of opinion that the facts proved or alleged constitute a minor offence fit to be tried summarily,

(b) the accused, on being informed by the Court of his right to be tried with a jury, does not object to being tried summarily, and

(c) the Director of Public Prosecutions consents to the accused being tried summarily for such offence.”.

9 Consent of Director of Public Prosecutions to other offences being taken into consideration in awarding punishment.

9.—Section 8 of the Act of 1951 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Where a person, on being convicted of an offence, admits himself guilty of any other offence and asks to have it taken into consideration in awarding punishment, the Court may, if the Director of Public Prosecutions consents, take it into consideration accordingly.”.

10 Search warrants in relation to serious offences.

10.—(1) A judge of the District Court, on hearing evidence on oath given by a member not below the rank of inspector, may, if he or she is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of, or relating to the commission of—

(a) an indictable offence involving the death of or serious bodily injury to any person,

(b) an offence of false imprisonment,

(c) an offence of rape, or

(d) an offence under an enactment set out in the First Schedule to this Act,

is to be found in any place, issue a warrant for the search of that place and any persons found at that place.

(2) A warrant under this section shall be expressed to and shall operate to authorise a named member, accompanied by any other member, to enter, within one week of the date of issuing of the warrant (if necessary by the use of reasonable force), the place named on the warrant, and to search it and any persons found at that place and seize anything found at that place, or anything found in the possession of a person present at that place at the time of the search, which the said member reasonably believes to be evidence of or relating to an offence referred to in subsection (1).

(3) A member acting under the authority of a warrant under this section may—

(a) require any person present at the place where the search is carried out to give to the member his or her name and address, and

(b) arrest otherwise than on foot of a warrant any person—

(i) who obstructs or attempts to obstruct that member in the carrying out of his or her duties,

(ii) who fails to comply with a requirement under paragraph (a), or

(iii) who gives a name or address which the member has reasonable cause for believing is false or misleading.

(4) A person who obstructs or attempts to obstruct a member acting under the authority of a warrant under this section, who fails to comply with a requirement under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) or who gives a false name or address to a member shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500, or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months, or to both.

(5) The power to issue a warrant under this section is in addition to and not in substitution for any other power to issue a warrant for the search of any place or person.

(6) In this section—

“commission” in relation to an offence, includes an attempt to commit such offence; and

“place” includes a dwelling.

11 Electronic recording of fingerprints and palmprints.

11.—(1) A power under any enactment, whether passed before or after the passing of this Act, to take the fingerprints or palmprints of any person shall include the power to record an image of that person's fingerprints or palmprints by electronic means or in any other manner.