Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990

• Enactment Date: 18 December 1990
• Act Number: 32

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Number 32 of 1990

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CRIMINAL LAW (RAPE) (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 15 February 2022

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Law (Rape)(Amendment) Act 1990. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (50/2021), enacted 23 December 2021, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Education Act 1998 (Unregistered Persons) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 68 of 2022), made 15 February 2022, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 32 of 1990

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CRIMINAL LAW (RAPE) (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 15 February 2022

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Criminal Law (Rape) Acts 1981 and 1990: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be read together as one (Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, s. 22(2)). The Acts in the group are:

• Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981

• Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (2/2017)

• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 (15/2006)

• Sex Offenders Act 2001 (18/2001)

• Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 (16/2000)

• Criminal Law Act 1997 (14/1997)

• Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 (38/1996)

All Acts up to and including Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 (50/2021), enacted 23 December 2021, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

None

All statutory instruments up to and including Education Act 1998 (Unregistered Persons) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 68 of 2022), made 15 February 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 32 of 1990

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CRIMINAL LAW (RAPE) (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 15 February 2022

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Acts Referred to
Criminal Justice Act, 1951	1951, No. 2
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885	1885, c. 69
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935	1935, No. 6
Criminal Law (Rape) Act, 1981	1981, No. 10
Criminal Procedure Act, 1967	1967, No. 12
Defence Act, 1954	1954, No. 18
Genocide Act, 1973	1973, No. 28
Offences against the Person Act, 1861	1861, c. 100

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Number 32 of 1990

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CRIMINAL LAW (RAPE) (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990

REVISED

Updated to 15 February 2022

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AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO RAPE AND CERTAIN OTHER SEXUAL OFFENCES AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL LAW (RAPE) ACT, 1981, AND CERTAIN OTHER ENACTMENTS. [18th December, 1990]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1

1. — (1) In this Act—

“ aggravated sexual assault ” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 ;

“ rape under section 4 ” has the meaning assigned to it by section 4 ;

“ the Principal Act ” means the Criminal Law (Rape) Act, 1981;

“ sexual assault ” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 .

(2) (a) In this Act and in the Principal Act a reference to a section is a reference to a section of the Act in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(b) In this Act and in the Principal Act a reference 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.

(c) In this Act and in the Principal Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

Sexual assault.

2

2. — (1) The offence of indecent assault upon any male person and the offence of indecent assault upon any female person shall be known as sexual assault.

F1[(2) (a) A person guilty of sexual assault shall be liable on conviction on indictment

(i) in case the person on whom the assault was committed was a child, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years, and

(ii) in any other case, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

(b) In this subsection child means a person under 17 years of age.]

(3) Sexual assault shall be a felony.

Annotations:

Amendments:

F1

Substituted (27.09.2001) by Sex Offenders Act 2001 (18/2001), s. 37(1), S.I. No. 426 of 2001, applying only to sexual assaults committed after commencement as per subs. (2).

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of section extended (28.06.2000) by Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 (16/2000), s. 2 and sch. 2 part 1 para. 5, commenced on enactment.

Offences against United Nations workers.

2.—Where a person does outside the State an act to, or in relation to, a United Nations worker that, if done in the State, would constitute an offence specified in Part I of the Second Schedule, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to the penalty to which he or she would have been liable if he or she had done the act in the State.

...

SECOND SCHEDULE

Section 2.

PART I

...

Sexual offences

5. Any offence under the following provisions of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act, 1990 —

(a) section 2 (sexual assault);

(b) section 3 (aggravated sexual assault);

(c) section 4 (rape under section 4).

...

C2

Application of section extended (19.12.1996) by Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 (38/1996), s. 2 and sch. items 4-6, commenced on enactment.

Sexual offences committed outside State.

2.—(1) Where a person, being a citizen of the State or being ordinarily resident in the State, does an act, in a place other than the State (“the place”), against or involving a child which—

(a) constitutes an offence under the law of the place, and

(b) if done within the State, would constitute an offence under, or referred to in, an enactment specified in the Schedule to this Act,

he or she shall be guilty of the second-mentioned offence.

(2) Where a person, being a citizen of the State or being ordinarily resident in the State, attempts to commit an offence which is an offence by virtue of subsection (1) of this section (“the principal offence”), he or she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a penalty not greater than the penalty to which he or she would have been liable if he or she had been convicted of the principal offence.

(3) Where a person aids, abets, counsels or procures, in the State, the commission of an offence, which is an offence by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, he or she shall be guilty of that offence.

(4) Where a person, being a citizen of the State or being ordinarily resident in the State, aids, abets, counsels or procures, outside the State, the commission of an offence, which is an offence by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, he or she shall be guilty of that offence.

(5) Where a person conspires with, or incites, inside the State, another person to commit an offence, which is an offence by virtue of subsection (1) of this section (“the principal offence”), he or she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a penalty not exceeding the penalty to which he or she would be liable if he or she were convicted of the principal offence.

(6) Where a person, being a citizen of the State or being ordinarily resident in the State, conspires with, or incites, outside the State, another person to commit an offence, which is an offence by virtue of subsection (1) of this section (“the principal offence”), he or she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to a penalty not exceeding the penalty to which he or she...