Criminal Procedure Act, 1993

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Number 40 of 1993

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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1993

REVISED

Updated to 17 February 2020

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Procedure Act 1993. 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 Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (53/2019), enacted 26 December 2019, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 52 of 2020), made 17 February 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 40 of 1993

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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1993

REVISED

Updated to 17 February 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 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.

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Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked.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 (18/2004)

• Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005 (28/2005)

• Courts and Court Officers Act 1995 (31/1995)

All Acts up to and including Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (53/2019), enacted 26 December 2019, 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 Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 52 of 2020), made 17 February 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 40 of 1993

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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1993

REVISED

Updated to 17 February 2020

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Acts Referred to
Courts of Justice Act, 1924	1924, No. 10
Courts of Justice Act, 1928	1928, No. 15
Courts-Martial Appeals Act, 1983	1983, No. 19
Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962	1962, No. 12
Criminal Procedure Act, 1967	1967, No. 12
Defence Act, 1954	1954, No. 18
Offences Against the State Act, 1939	1939, No. 13
Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act, 1921	11 Geo. 5., c. 7
Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) (Amendment) Act, 1979	1979, No. 3

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Number 40 of 1993

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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1993

REVISED

Updated to 17 February 2020

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AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CERTAIN CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCES, FOR PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS FOR THE GRANT OF PARDON ON THE GROUNDS OF MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE, FOR PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION BY THE STATE TO OR IN RESPECT OF PERSONS CONVICTED AS A RESULT OF A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AND FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [29th December, 1993]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of Act restricted (1.02.2007) by Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005 (28/2005), ss. 10(1), 11, S.I. No. 647 of 2006.

Execution of sentence imposed in sentencing country.

10.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the High Court may, where a person is—

(a) brought before it under subsection (8) of section 8,

(b) brought before it under subsection (4) of section 9 at the same time as the certificate is produced in accordance with the said subsection (4), or

(c) before the High Court, by reason of having been remanded under the said subsection (4), at the same time as, or at any time after, the certificate is produced in accordance with the said subsection (4),

make an order committing the person to a prison [...] for a period equal to—

(i) in the case of a person who fled from the sentencing country before he or she began serving the sentence concerned, the period of the sentence less the deductible period, or

(ii) in the case of a person who served part of the sentence concerned but fled from the sentencing country before he or she completed serving that sentence, the period of the sentence that remains unserved less the deductible period.

...

Criminal Procedure Act 1993 disapplied.

11.—The Criminal Procedure Act 1993 shall not apply to a person to whom an order under subsection (1) of section 10 applies.

C2

Application of Act restricted (17.07.1995) by Transfer of Sentenced Person Act 1995 (16/1995), s. 7(9), commenced on enactment.

Issue of warrants for bringing of persons into State.

7.— ...

(9) The Criminal Procedure Act, 1993, shall not apply to a person in respect of whom a warrant is issued under this section.

Interpretation.

1

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Court” means the Court of Criminal Appeal but, in sections 2 to 5 and 7, as modified by section 6, also includes the Courts-Martial Appeal Court;

“legal aid certificate” means a certificate granted under the appropriate provision of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section is to a section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph 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 any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

Review by Court of Criminal Appeal of alleged miscarriage of justice or excessive sentence.

2

2.—(1) A person—

(a) who has been convicted of an offence either—

(i) on indictment, or

(ii) after signing a plea of guilty and being sent forward for sentence under section 13 (2) (b) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, and

who, after appeal to the Court including an application for leave to appeal, and any subsequent re-trial, stands convicted of an offence to which this paragraph applies, and

(b) who alleges that a new or newly-discovered fact shows that there has been a miscarriage of justice in relation to the conviction or that the sentence imposed is excessive,

may, if no further proceedings are pending in relation to the appeal, apply to the Court for an order quashing the conviction or reviewing the sentence.

(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be treated for all purposes as an appeal to the Court against the conviction or sentence.

(3) In subsection (1) (b) the reference to a new fact is to a fact known to the convicted person at the time of the trial or appeal proceedings the significance of which was appreciated by him, where he alleges that there is a reasonable explanation for his failure to adduce evidence of that fact.

(4) The reference in subsection (1) (b) to a newly-discovered fact is to a fact discovered by or coming to the notice of the convicted person after the relevant appeal proceedings have been finally determined or a fact the significance of which was not appreciated by the convicted person or his advisers during the trial or appeal proceedings.

(5) Where—

(a) after an application by a convicted person under subsection (1) and any subsequent re-trial the person stands convicted of an offence, and

(b) the person alleges that a fact discovered by him or coming to his notice after the hearing of the application and any subsequent re-trial or a fact the significance of which was not appreciated by him or his advisers during the hearing of the application and any subsequent re-trial shows that there has been a miscarriage of justice in relation to the conviction, or that the sentence was excessive,

he may apply to the Court for an order quashing the conviction or reviewing the sentence and his application shall be treated as if it were an application under that subsection.

Jurisdiction of Court of Criminal Appeal in relation to appeals.

3

3.—(1) On the hearing of an appeal against conviction of an offence the Court may—

(a) affirm the conviction (and may do so, notwithstanding that it is of opinion that a point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, if it considers that no miscarriage of justice has actually occurred), or

(b) quash the conviction and make no further order, or

(c) quash the...