Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006

• Enactment Date: 12 April 2006
• Act Number: 11

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Number 11 of 2006

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CRIMINAL LAW (INSANITY) ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 24 April 2020

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006. 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 Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (2/2020), enacted 27 March 2020, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 (Designation of Centre) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 142 of 2020), made 23 April 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.

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Number 11 of 2006

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CRIMINAL LAW (INSANITY) ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 24 April 2020

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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 first passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions. A version without annotations, showing only textual amendments, is also available.

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Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked.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

• Court of Appeal Act 2014 (18/2014)

• Criminal Law Insanity Act 2010 (40/2010)

• Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008)

• Medical Practitioners Act 2007 (25/2007)

• Defence (Amendment) Act 2007 (24/2007)

• Prisons Act 2007 (10/2007)

• Criminal Justice Act 2006 (26/2006)

• Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (26/2005)

• Court Martial Appeals Act 1983 (19/1983)

• Defence Act 1954 (18/1954)

All Acts up to and including Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (2/2020), enacted 27 March 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 (Designation of Centre) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 142 of 2020)

• Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 6) (Civil Partnership) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 604 of 2011)

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Justice and Law Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 138 of 2011)

• Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2010 (S.I. No. 216 of 2010)

• Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 142 of 2007)

• Social Welfare (Consolidated Occupational Injuries) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 102 of 2007)

• Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 15) (Absence From State and Imprisonment) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 696 of 2006)

• Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) (Amendment) (No. 1) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 695 of 2006)

• Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board (Establishment Day) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 499 of 2006)

• Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 (Commencement) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 273 of 2006)

• Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations 1994 (S.I. No. 417 of 1994)

• Social Welfare (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1952 (S.I. No. 374 of 1952)

All statutory instruments up to and including Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 (Designation of Centre) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 142 of 2020), made 23 April 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 11 of 2006

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CRIMINAL LAW (INSANITY) ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 24 April 2020

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Acts Referred to

Central Criminal Lunatic Asylum (Ireland) Act 1845	8 & 9 Vic., c. 107
Civil Service Regulation Act 1956	1956, No. 46
Courts of Justice Act 1924	1924, No. 10
Criminal Justice Act 1960	1960, No. 27
Criminal Justice Act 1999	1999, No. 10
Criminal Lunatics Act 1800	39 & 40 Geo. 3, c. 94
Criminal Lunatics (Ireland) Act 1838	1 & 2 Vic., c. 27
Criminal Procedure Act 1967	1967, No. 12
Defence Act 1954	1954, No. 18
Infanticide Act 1949	1949, No. 16
Juries Act 1976	1976, No. 4
Lunacy (Ireland) Act 1821	1 & 2 Geo. 4, c. 33
Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Act 1875	38 & 39 Vic., c. 67
Medical Practitioners Acts 1978 to 2002
Mental Health Act 2001	2001, No. 25
Trial of Lunatics Act 1883	46 & 47 Vic., c. 38

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Number 11 of 2006

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CRIMINAL LAW (INSANITY) ACT 2006

REVISED

Updated to 24 April 2020

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AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE TRIAL AND DETENTION OF PERSONS SUFFERING FROM MENTAL DISORDERS WHO ARE CHARGED WITH OFFENCES OR FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY, TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO UNFITNESS TO PLEAD AND THE SPECIAL VERDICT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMMITTAL OF SUCH PERSONS TO DESIGNATED CENTRES AND FOR THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE DETENTION OF SUCH PERSONS AND, FOR THOSE PURPOSES, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BODY TO BE KNOWN AS AN BORD ATHBHREITHNITHE MEABHAIR-SHLÁINTE (AN DLÍ COIRIÚIL), OR, IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THE MENTAL HEALTH (CRIMINAL LAW) REVIEW BOARD, TO REPEAL THE TRIAL OF LUNATICS ACT 1883, TO AMEND THE INFANTICIDE ACT 1949, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.

[12th April, 2006]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations:

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2).

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

(2) References to the Department of Finance contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

3. The functions conferred on the Minister for Finance by or under the provisions of —

(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and

(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,

are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

5. References to the Minister for Finance contained in any Act or instrument under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

...

Schedule 1

Enactments

...

Part 2

1922 to 2011 Enactments

Number and Year	Short Title	Provision
(1)	(2)	(3)
...	...	...
No. 11 of 2006	Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006	Sections 12(6)(a) and 24
...	...	...

C2

References to “Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform” and “Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform” construed (2.04.2011) by Justice and Law Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 138 of 2011), in effect as per art. 1(2).

4. In an...