Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994

JurisdictionIreland
CitationIR No. 2/1994


Number 2 of 1994


CRIMINAL JUSTICE (PUBLIC ORDER) ACT 1994

REVISED

Updated to 26 August 2020


This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. 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 Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (13/2020), enacted 6 August 2020, and all statutory instruments up to and including the European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020), made 26 August 2020, 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.


Number 2 of 1994


CRIMINAL JUSTICE (PUBLIC ORDER) ACT 1994

REVISED

Updated to 26 August 2020


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 Justice (Public Order) Acts 1994 to 2014: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014), s. 1(11)). The Acts in this group are:

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (2/1994)

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 (16/2003)

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2011 (5/2011)

Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014), s. 1(11) and the amendment to Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 provided for in s. 5(6) and sch. 2 part 6

Vagrancy Acts 1824 to 1994: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (2/1994), s. 1(2). The Acts in this group are:

Vagrancy Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 83), as applied to Ireland by Prevention of Crimes Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 112), s. 15

Housing Act 1988 (28/1988), s. 28

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (2/1994), s. 12

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 Justice Act 2017 (14/2017)

Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 (4/2016)

Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014)

Education and Training Boards Act 2013 (11/2013)

Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013)

Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 (17/2008)

Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007)

Prisons Act 2007 (10/2007)

Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006)

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 (16/2003)

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 (9/2002)

Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 (50/2001)

Bail Act 1997 (16/1997)

All Acts up to and including Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (13/2020), enacted 6 August 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 480 of 2011)

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (Sections 23A and 23B) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 266 of 2009)

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 (Sections 23A and 23B) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 363 of 2008)

All statutory instruments up to and including European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 318 of 2020), made 26 August 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Number 2 of 1994


CRIMINAL JUSTICE (PUBLIC ORDER) ACT 1994

REVISED

Updated to 26 August 2020


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I

Preliminary and General


Number 2 of 1994


CRIMINAL JUSTICE (PUBLIC ORDER) ACT 1994

REVISED

Updated to 26 August 2020


AN ACT TO ABOLISH CERTAIN COMMON LAW OFFENCES RELATING TO PUBLIC ORDER AND TO PROVIDE CERTAIN STATUTORY OFFENCES RELATING TO PUBLIC ORDER IN LIEU THEREOF, TO PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL POWERS OF CROWD CONTROL BY MEMBERS OF THE GARDA SÍOCHÁNA IN, OR OF CONTROL BY SUCH MEMBERS OF ACCESS TO, THE VICINITY OF CERTAIN EVENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR OFFENCES RELATING THERETO, TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO PUBLIC ORDER AND TO FINES AND TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN OFFENCES AND FOR THOSE AND OTHER PURPOSES TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATION. [3rd March, 1994]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

A number of instruments refer to offences under this Act as disqualifying or potentially disqualifying offences, or as otherwise meriting certain treatment. They are:

Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 484 of 2015), reg. 7

Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), ss. 30, 31 and sch. part 2 item 2

Housing (Incremental Purchase) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 252 of 2010), reg. 6

Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), ss. 25, 26 and sch. 2 para. 10

E2

Conviction of certain offences under ss. 4-8, 8A(4), 9 and ss. 14-19 excluded from exemption from disclosure by National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (47/2012), s. 14A and sch. 3 as inserted (29.04.2016) by Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 (4/2016), ss. 21, 29, S.I. No. 215 of 2016.

PART I

Preliminary and General

Short title, collective citation and commencement.

1

1.(1) This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994.

(2) The Vagrancy Acts, 1824 and 1988, and section 12 may be cited together as the Vagrancy Acts, 1824 to 1994.

(3) This Act shall come into operation one month after its passing.

Interpretation (general).

2

2.(1) A reference in this Act to a Part or to a section is a reference to a Part or section of this Act unless it is indicated that a reference to some other Act is intended.

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

PART II

Offences Relating to Public Order

Interpretation (Part II).

3

3.In this Part, except where the context otherwise requires—

dwelling” includes a building, vehicle or vessel ordinarily used for habitation;

private place” means a place that is not a public place;

public place” includes—

(a) any highway,

(b) any outdoor area to which at the material time members of the public have or are permitted to have access, whether as of right or as a trespasser or otherwise, and which is used for public recreational purposes,

(c) any cemetery or churchyard,

(d) any premises or other place to which at the material time members of the public have or are permitted to have access, whether as of right or by express or implied permission, or whether on payment or otherwise, and

(e) any train, vessel or vehicle used for the carriage of persons for reward.

Intoxication in public place.

4

4.(1) It shall be an offence for any person to be present in any public place while intoxicated to such an extent as would give rise to a reasonable apprehension that he might endanger himself or any other person in his vicinity.

(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F1[500].

(3) Where a member of the Garda Síochána suspects, with reasonable cause, that an offence under this section or under section 5 or 6 is being committed, the member concerned may seize, obtain or remove, without warrant, any bottle or container, together with its contents, which—

(a) is in the possession, in a place other than a place used as a dwelling, of a person by whom such member suspects the offence to have been committed, and

(b) such member suspects, with reasonable cause, contains an intoxicating substance:

Provided that, in the application of this subsection to section 5 or 6, any such bottle or container, together with its contents, may only be so seized, obtained or removed where the member of the Garda Síochána suspects, with reasonable cause, that the bottle or container or its contents, is relevant to the...

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