Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001

(3)Subsection (1)applies to a person in respect of a relevant offence referred to inparagraph (a)of that subsection only if that relevant offence is committed after the coming into operation ofsection 2of the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act 2015 and that subsection shall apply to the person whether the other relevant offences referred to inparagraphs (b)and(c)of that subsection were committed before or after such coming into operation.

(4) Where two or more consecutive sentences required bysubsection (1)are imposed by the District Court, the aggregate term of imprisonment in respect of those consecutive sentences shall not exceed 2 years.

(5) A reference inparagraphs (b)and(c)ofsubsection (1)to a conviction includes a reference to a conviction for a relevant offence which is the subject of an appeal (which has neither been determined nor withdrawn).

(6) In this section—

"dwelling" includes—

(a) a building or structure (whether temporary or not) which is constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling and is being so used,

(b) a vehicle or vessel (whether mobile or not) which is constructed or adapted for use as a dwelling and is being so used, or

(c) a part of a dwelling;

"relevant offence" means an offence undersection 12or13.]

55. Alternative verdicts.

55.—(1) If, on the trial of a person for theft or for unlawfully obtaining property otherwise, it is proved that the person handled or possessed the property in such circumstances as to constitute an offence under section 17 or 18, he or she may be convicted of that offence.

(2) If, on the trial of a person for an offence under section 17 or 18 of handling or possessing stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained property, it is proved that the person stole or otherwise unlawfully obtained the property, he or she may be convicted of the theft of the property or of the offence consisting of unlawfully obtaining the property.

56. Orders for restitution.

56.—(1) Where property has been stolen and either—

(a) a person is convicted of an offence with reference to the theft (whether or not the stealing is the essential ingredient of the offence), or

(b) a person is convicted of any other offence but the first-mentioned offence is taken into consideration in determining his or her sentence,

the court by or before which the person is convicted may on the conviction (whether or not the passing of sentence is in other respects deferred)—

(i) order anyone having possession or control of the property to restore it to any person entitled to recover it from the convicted person,

(ii) on the application of a person entitled to recover from the convicted person any other property directly or indirectly representing the first-mentioned property (as being the proceeds of any disposal or realisation of the whole or part of it or of property so representing it), order that other property to be delivered or transferred to the applicant, or

(iii) order that a sum not exceeding the value of the first-mentioned property shall be paid, out of any money of the convicted person which was taken out of his or her possession when arrested, to any person who, if that property were in the possession of the convicted person, would be entitled to recover it from him or her.

(2) Where the court has power on a person's conviction to make an order against him or her under both paragraph (ii) and paragraph (iii) of subsection (1) with reference to the stealing of the same property, the court may make orders under both paragraphs, if the person in whose favour the orders are made does not thereby recover more than the value of that property.

(3) Where—

(a) the court makes an order under subsection (1)(i) for the restoration of any property, and

(b) it appears to the court that the convicted person has sold the property to a person acting in good faith or has borrowed money on the security of it from a person so acting,

then, on the application of the purchaser or lender the court may order that there shall be paid to the applicant, out of any money of the convicted person which was taken out of his or her possession when arrested, a sum not exceeding the amount paid for the purchase by the applicant or, as the case may be, the amount owed to the applicant in respect of the loan.

(4) (a) The court shall not exercise the powers conferred by this section unless in its opinion the relevant facts sufficiently appear from evidence given at the trial or the available documents, together with admissions made by or on behalf of any person in connection with any proposed exercise of the powers.

(b) In paragraph (a) “available documents” means—

(i) any written statements or admissions which were made for use, and would have been admissible in evidence, at the trial,

(ii) any depositions taken in any proceedings before the trial, and

(iii) any written statements or admissions used as evidence at the trial or in any such proceedings.

(5) The provisions of section 20 in relation to property which has been stolen shall have effect also in relation to the property referred to in this section.

(6) This section is without prejudice to the Police (Property) Act, 1897 (disposal of property in the possession of the Garda Síochána).

57. Provision of information to juries.

57.—(1) In a trial on indictment of an offence under this Act, the trial judge may order that copies of any or all of the following documents shall be given to the jury in any form that the judge considers appropriate:

(a) any document admitted in evidence at the trial,

(b) the transcript of the opening speeches of counsel,

(c) any charts, diagrams, graphics, schedules or agreed summaries of evidence produced at the trial,

(d) the transcript of the whole or any part of the evidence given at the trial,

(e) the transcript of the closing speeches of counsel,

(f) the transcript of the trial judge's charge to the jury,

(g) any other document that in the opinion of the trial judge would be of assistance to the jury in its deliberations including, where appropriate, an affidavit by an accountant summarising, in a form which is likely to be comprehended by the jury, any transactions by the accused or other persons which are relevant to the offence.

(2) If the prosecutor proposes to apply to the trial judge for an order that a document mentioned in subsection (1)(g) shall be given to the jury, the prosecutor shall give a copy of the document to the accused in advance of the trial and, on the hearing of the application, the trial judge shall take into account any representations made by or on behalf of the accused in relation to it.

(3) Where the trial judge has made an order that an affidavit mentioned in subsection (1)(g) shall be given to the jury, the accountant concerned—

(a) shall be summoned by the prosecutor to attend at the trial as an expert witness, and

(b) may be required by the trial judge, in an appropriate case, to give evidence in regard to any relevant accounting procedures or principles.

PART 9 Miscellaneous

58. Liability for offences by bodies corporate and unincorporated.

58.—(1) Where—

(a) an offence under F41[this ActF42[(other thanPart 5or6)]] has been committed by a body corporate, and

(b) the offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, a person who was either—

(i) a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or

(ii) a person purporting to act in any such capacity,

that person, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of an offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member's functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

(3) The foregoing provisions shall apply, with the necessary modifications, in relation to offences under this Act committed by an unincorporated body.

59. Reporting of offences.

59.—(1) In this section—

“firm” means a partnership, a corporate or unincorporated body or a self-employed individual;

“relevant person” means a person—

(a) who audits the accounts of a firm, or

(b) who otherwise with a view to reward assists or advises a firm in the preparation or delivery of any information, or of any declaration, return, account or other document, which the person knows will be, or is likely to be, used for the purpose of keeping or auditing the accounts of the firm,

but does not include an employee of a firm who—

(i) in that capacity so assists or advises the firm, and

(ii) whose income from so doing consists solely of emoluments chargeable to income tax under Schedule E, as defined in section 19 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997.

(2) Where the accounts of a firm, or as the case may be any information or document mentioned in subsection (1)(b), indicate that—

(a) an offence under this Act (other than sections 8, 12 to 15, 49(1) and 52(8)) may have been committed by the firm concerned, or

(b) such an offence may have been committed in relation to its affairs by a partner in the firm or, in the case of a corporate or unincorporated body, by a director, manager, secretary or other employee thereof, or by the self-employed individual concerned,

the relevant person shall, notwithstanding any professional obligations of privilege or confidentiality, report that fact to a member of the Garda Síochána.

(3) A disclosure in a report made in good faith by a relevant person to a member of the Garda Síochána under subsection (2) shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction imposed by statute or otherwise or involve the person in liability of any kind.

(4) A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the duty imposed by subsection (2) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

60. Evidence in proceedings.

60.—(1) For the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to specified conduct outside the State—

(a) a document purporting to be signed by a lawyer practising in the state or a territorial unit within it where the conduct is alleged to have occurred and stating that the conduct is an offence under the law of that state or territorial unit, and

(b) a document purporting to be a translation of a document mentioned in paragraph (a) and to be certified as correct by a person appearing to be competent to so certify,

shall be admissible in any proceedings, without further proof, as evidence of the matters mentioned in those documents, unless the contrary is shown.

(2) For the purposes of section 45 a document purporting to be signed by an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and stating that a passport was issued by the Department to a specified person on a specified date and that, to the best of the officer's knowledge and belief, the person has not ceased to be an Irish citizen shall be admissible in any proceedings, without further proof, as evidence that the person was an Irish citizen on the date on which the offence under that section with which the person is charged was committed, unless the contrary is shown.

61. Jurisdiction of District Court in certain proceedings.

61.—For the purposes of the exercise of jurisdiction by a judge of the District Court in proceedings for an offence under this Act committed on a vessel or hovercraft or on an installation in the F43[territorial sea or in a designated area (within the meaning of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021)] the offence may be treated as having been committed in any place in the State.

62. Amendment of section 9 of Married Women's Status Act, 1957.

62.—Section 9 of the Married Women's Status Act, 1957, is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:

“(3) No criminal proceedings referred to in subsection (1) or (2) shall be taken by a spouse against the other spouse except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”.

63. Amendment of Defence Act, 1954.

63.—The Defence Act, 1954, is hereby amended by the substitution for section 156 (as substituted by the Larceny Act, 1990) of the following section:

“156.—(1) Every person subject to military law who—

(a) steals or otherwise unlawfully obtains any property belonging to a person subject to military law or any public service property or service property, or

(b) handles or possesses (within the meaning of section 17 or 18 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001) any such property,

is guilty of an offence against military law and shall, on conviction by court-martial, be liable to suffer imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years or any less punishment awardable by a court martial.

(2) The said sections 17 and 18 shall apply to the offences of handling and possessing under subsection (1)(b) of this section as they apply to the offences of handling and possessing stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained property.”.

64. Amendment of Bail Act, 1997.

64.—The Schedule to the Bail Act, 1997, is hereby amended by the substitution, for the matter contained in paragraph 17, of “Any offence under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.” and by the deletion of the section headed “Forgery etc. offences.”.

65. Effect of Act and transitional provisions.

65.—(1) This Act, save as otherwise provided by it, shall, as regards offences under any of its provisions, have effect only in relation to offences wholly or partly committed on or after the commencement of any such provision.

(2) No repeal or amendment by this Act of any enactment relating to procedure or evidence or to the jurisdiction or powers of any court or to the effect of a conviction shall affect the operation of the enactment in relation to offences committed before the commencement of this Act or to proceedings for any such offence.

(3) If—

(a) a person is charged in the alternative with having committed an offence under a statute or rule of law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act and an offence under this Act, and

(b) it is proved that the person did acts which would constitute either of the offences charged, but it is not proved whether those acts were done before or after such commencement,

the person may be convicted of the first-mentioned offence but shall not be liable to a penalty greater than the lesser of the maximum penalties provided for the two offences with which the person was charged.

(4) Except as regards offences committed before the commencement of this Act and except where the context otherwise requires—

(a) references in any enactment passed before this Act to an offence abolished by this Act shall, subject to any express amendment or repeal made by this Act, have effect as references to the corresponding offence under this Act, and

(b) without prejudice to paragraph (a), references, however expressed, in any enactment, whenever passed, to theft or stealing (including references to stolen goods) or related offences, and references to robbery, burglary, aggravated burglary, receiving or handling stolen property, forgery or counterfeiting shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and any such enactment shall have effect accordingly, with any necessary modifications.

(5) (a) The repeal by section 3(1) of sections 23 (robbery), 23A (burglary) and 23B (aggravated burglary) of the Larceny Act, 1916, shall not affect the operation of those sections for the purposes of section 2 of, and paragraph 9 of the Schedule to, the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976, and accordingly that section and that paragraph shall have effect as if section 3(1) had not been enacted.

(b) References in paragraph (a) to sections 23, 23A and 23B of the Larceny Act, 1916, are to those sections as substituted, or as the case may be inserted, by sections 5 to 7 of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976.

(6) On the commencement of this subsection—

(a) subsection (5) shall cease to have effect,

(b) sections 5 to 7 of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976, shall be repealed, and

(c) the following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph 9 of the Schedule to the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976:

“Robbery and burglary

(a) section 13 (aggravated burglary);

(b) section 14 (robbery).”.