Criminal Procedure Act 2021

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 7/2021
• Year: 2021

Number 7 of 2021
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2021
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title and commencement
2. Definitions
PART 2
Preliminary Trial Hearings
3. Interpretation (Part 2)
4. Application (Part 2)
5. Relevant offence for purposes of Part
6. Preliminary trial hearing
7. Appeal of certain orders made at preliminary trial hearing
8. Trial not to proceed pending appeal under section 7
9. Power to exclude public
10. Hearings not to be published or broadcast
11. Rules of court
PART 3
Provision of Information to Juries
12. Provision of information to juries
PART 4
Amendments to certain Acts relating to Criminal Procedure
13. Amendment of section 4A of Act of 1967
14. Amendment of section 4E of Act of 1967
15. Amendment of section 4Q of Act of 1967
16. Amendment of section 21 of Act of 1984
17. Amendment of section 23 of Act of 2010
18. Amendment of section 34 of Act of 2010
Acts Referred to
Broadcasting Act 2009 (No. 18)
Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (No. 26)
Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (No. 13)
Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)
Competition Act 2002 (No. 14)
Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (No. 12)
Criminal Justice (Administration) Act 1924 (No. 44)
Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 (No. 11)
Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 (No. 12)
Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 (No. 7)
Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 (No. 50)
Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 (No. 28)
Criminal Justice Act 1951 (No. 2)
Criminal Justice Act 1984 (No. 22)
Criminal Justice Act 1999 (No. 10)
Criminal Justice Act 2006 (No. 26)
Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 (No. 10)
Criminal Procedure Act 1967 (No. 12)
Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (No. 27)
Interpretation Act 2005 (No. 23)
Juries Act 1976 (No. 4)
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39)
Number 7 of 2021
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2021
An Act to provide for preliminary trial hearings in respect of the trial of certain criminal offences; to provide for the provision of certain information to juries; to amend the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 , the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and the Criminal Procedure Act 2010 ; and to provide for related matters.
[24th May, 2021]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
		Short title and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Act 2021.
	(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
		Definitions
2. In this Act—
	“accused”, in respect of an offence, means the person charged with the offence;
	“Act of 1967” means the Criminal Procedure Act 1967 ;
	“Act of 1984” means the Criminal Justice Act 1984 ;
	“Act of 2010” means the Criminal Procedure Act 2010 ;
	“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005 ;
	“Minister” means the Minister for Justice;
	“order”, in relation to a court, means a decision that the court is empowered to make under or pursuant to an enactment or the common law, or otherwise;
	“the prosecution”, in relation to an offence, means—
	(a) the Director of Public Prosecutions,
	(b) a person prosecuting the offence at the suit of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or
	(c) a person authorised by law to prosecute the offence.
PART 2 Preliminary Trial Hearings
		Interpretation (Part 2)
3. (1) In this Part—
	“Act of 1962” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 ;
	“Act of 1992” means the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 ;
	“preliminary trial hearing” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (1);
	“relevant offence” shall be construed in accordance with section 5 ;
	“relevant order” means an order as to the admissibility of evidence, including an order under or pursuant to section 16 of the Act of 1992;
	“trial court” shall be construed in accordance with section 6 (1).
	(2) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—
	(a) a reference to a person being sent forward for trial includes, where appropriate, a reference to such a person being sent or being sent forward for trial to, or charged before, a Special Criminal Court, and
	(b) a reference to a trial of an accused in respect of an offence shall include a reference to a retrial of an accused in respect of an offence.
		Application (Part 2)
4. This Part applies in respect of proceedings for an offence where—
	(a) an accused has been or is sent forward for trial in respect of the offence (whether before, on or after the coming into operation of this section), and
	(b) the trial has not yet commenced.
		Relevant offence for purposes of Part
5. (1) In this Part, a relevant offence means—
	(a) an offence specified in an order made under subsection (2),
	(b) an offence for which a person of full capacity and not previously convicted may, under, or by virtue of, any enactment or the common law, be sentenced to—
	(i) imprisonment for life, or
	(ii) a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or more,
	(c) an offence consisting of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence specified in an order made under subsection (2) or an offence to which paragraph (b) applies, or
	(d) an offence consisting of conspiring to commit, or inciting the commission of, an offence specified in an order made under subsection (2) or an offence to which paragraph (b) applies.
	(2) Subject to subsection (3) , the Minister may by order specify as a relevant offence an indictable offence under a provision of any enactment or at common law, other than an offence to which subsection (1)(b) applies, if the Minister considers that it is proper to do so for the purposes of—
	(a) facilitating the just, expeditious and efficient conduct of the prosecution of such indictable offence and, in particular, for the avoidance of delays in such prosecution,
	(b) preventing the disruption to juries and witnesses that could arise in the trial of such indictable offence where no preliminary trial hearing was held in respect of such trial, or
	(c) reducing the impact on victims of such indictable offence of orders to which section 6 (8) applies being made during the course of the trial of the offence, where such orders could appropriately have been made at a preliminary trial hearing.
	(3) In making an order under subsection (2), the Minister shall take into account the following:
	(a) the nature of the offence concerned;
	(b) any relevant complexities that generally arise in the prosecution of such an offence.
	(4) An order made under subsection (2) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House sits after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
		Preliminary trial hearing
6. (1) Where an accused has been sent forward for trial in respect of an indictable offence, the court before which the accused is to stand trial (in this Part referred to as the “trial court”) may, of its own motion or upon the application of the prosecution or the accused, hold one, or more than one, hearing pursuant to this section (in this Part referred to as a “preliminary trial hearing”) where the court is satisfied that—
	(a) it would be conducive to the expeditious and efficient conduct of the proceedings, and
	(b) it is not contrary to the interests of justice,
	for the hearing to be held.
	(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) , the trial court shall, where—
	(a) an accused is charged with a relevant offence,
	(b) the prosecution or the accused makes an application to the court for a preliminary trial hearing to be held, and
	(c) no preliminary trial hearing has previously been held in respect of the trial of such offence,
	hold such a preliminary trial hearing.
	(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5) , where the trial court directs pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) that a preliminary trial hearing shall be held in respect of the trial of an offence, the hearing may be held at any time before—
	(a) the jury is sworn in, where the accused is before the Circuit Court or the Central Criminal Court, or
	(b) the trial commences, where the accused is before a Special Criminal Court.
	(4) The trial court shall, in determining when a preliminary trial hearing shall be held in respect of the trial of an offence, ensure in so far as is possible that the timing of the hearing is likely to achieve the purposes of this Act in a manner that is consistent with the interests of justice and, in particular, is likely to—
	(a) facilitate the expeditious and efficient conduct of the proceedings,
	(b) result in the least disruption to the jury and witnesses in the trial of the offence, and
	(c) best protect the interests of any victim of the offence.
	(5) The trial court may, on the application of the prosecution or the accused, where it considers it appropriate having regard to the orders the making of which are to be considered at a preliminary trial hearing and, in particular, where the making of a relevant order is sought, direct that the preliminary trial hearing concerned be held as close in time to the date for which the trial is set down for hearing as the court considers appropriate and just in the circumstances.
	(6) Where an accused has not been arraigned prior to a preliminary...