Offences Against The State Acts, 1939 To 1972 Special Criminal Court Rules, 1975.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1975
• Citation: IR SI 234/1975

S.I. No. 234 of 1975.

OFFENCES AGAINST THE STATE ACTS, 1939 to 1972 SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT RULES, 1975.

WHEREAS it is enacted by section 38 (1) of the Offences against the State Act, 1939 (No. 13 of 1939) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) that as soon as may be after the coming into force of Part V of the Act, there shall be established for the purposes of that Part of the Act a Court which shall be styled and known, and is in the Act referred to, as a Special Criminal Court;

AND WHEREAS by a Proclamation dated the 26th day of May, 1972, the Government ordered that Part V of the Act should come into force;

AND WHEREAS a Special Criminal Court was established on the 30th day of May, 1972;

AND WHEREAS it is enacted by section 41 (1) of the Act that every Special Criminal Court shall have power in its absolute discretion, to appoint the times and places of its sittings, and shall have control of its own procedure in all respects and shall for that purpose make, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice, rules regulating its practice and procedure and may in particular provide by such rules for the issuing of summonses, the procedure for bringing (in custody or on bail) persons before it for trial, the admission or the exclusion of the public to or from its sittings, the enforcing of the attendance of witnesses, and the production of documents.

NOW THEREFORE the Special Criminal Court established on the 30th day of May, 1972, in pursuance of the power vested in it hereby makes, with the concurrence of the Minister for Justice the following Rules:—

Dated the 3rd day of October, 1975.

(Signed) } Members of the Special Criminal Court. A. Denis Pringle J. C. Conroy P. Noel Ryan Gerard Clarke Cathal Ó Floinn Desmond O'Hagan B. J. Carroll

I concur in the making of these Rules.

Dated the 3rd day of October, 1975.

PATRICK COONEY,

Minister for Justice.

OFFENCES AGAINST THE STATE ACTS, 1939 to 1972 SPECIAL CRIMINAL COURT RULES, 1975. 1. These Rules shall come into operation on the 13th day of October, 1975, and may be cited as the Special Criminal Court Rules, 1975.

They shall apply, when appropriate, to all proceedings, taken on or after that day and in all cases then pending before the Court.

As from the said date the Special Criminal Court Rules, 1972, are annulled and the following Rules shall stand in lieu thereof.

INTERPRETATION. 2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 , shall apply to these Rules. 3. In these Rules

the term "the Acts" means the Offences against the State Act, 1939 (No. 13 of 1939), as amended by the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act, 1972 (No. 26 of 1972), and any other Act amending or extending the same;

the term "the Principal Act" means the Offences against the State Act, 1939 ;

the term "the Court" means the Special Criminal Court established by an Instrument made and published by the Government on the 30th day of May, 1972, and shall include, where the context so admits, the members of the Court sitting for the purpose of the trial of any person or the making of any Order, or the exercise of any other function or jurisdiction;

the term "Director of Public Prosecutions" means the person for the time being holding the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions by virtue of the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1974 (No. 22 of 1974) where the context so permits or requires and shall include any person performing the functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions by virtue of that Act;

the word "exhibits" includes all books, papers and documents, and all other property, matters and things whatsoever connected with the proceedings against any person if the same have been transmitted to the Court or have been produced and used in evidence during such proceedings or on any application made to the Court in reference to any such proceedings or intended proceedings and any written statement handed into Court by such person but does not include the statement of evidence that is to be given by each of the witnesses, or the original deposition of any witness examined before the Justice of the District Court or any indictment against any such person;

the word "person" includes a corporation;

the term "the Registrar" means the Registrar of the Court;

the term "Official Stenographer" means the person appointed to attend the trial, and, where necessary, to make a report.

SITTINGS OF THE COURT. 4. Sittings of the Court shall be held at such places and at such times as may be decided by the Court. 5. The Registrar shall give notice of the place and time of each sitting of the Court to the Chief State Solicitor and to persons to be tried at such sitting. If a person for trial is represented by a solicitor, the Registrar may also give such notice to the solicitor for such person. 6. (1) The members of the Court shall take their seats in such order as the Court may decide and the Court shall decide which member shall preside.

(2) The decision of the Court shall be pronounced by the presiding member. 7. (1) The Court shall be an open Court to the sittings of which the public generally shall have access so far as the same can conveniently be provided and subject to such conditions and limitations as the Court may at any time and from time to time impose.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the power to impose conditions provided in sub-paragraph (1) hereof the Court shall have power:

( a ) to limit the number of members of the public, other than bona fide representatives of the Press, who may have access to a sitting of the Court either generally or for the hearing of any particular trial or trials,

( b ) to authorise members of the Garda Síochána to prevent from attending any sitting of the Court any person who the Court has reason to believe is likely to interfere with the proceedings,

( c ) to direct the removal from the Court of any person interfering with its proceedings.

(3) Where the Court is satisfied that because of the special nature of, or of the circumstances of, any trial or proceeding before it, it is desirable in the interests of justice, or for the protection of the accused or any other person to do so, the Court may exclude from the hearing or from any specified portion of the hearing the public or any members of the public other than bona fide representatives of the Press.

(4) The Court may permit a witness to give his name and address in writing to the members of the Court and may also permit a witness including the accused to give the name and address of any person mentioned in his evidence in writing to the Court.

(5) The Court may direct that the name, address, or the evidence or any part of the evidence of any witness shall not be published. 8. The Court may direct that a witness shall not remain in Court while the evidence of another witness is being given and may make provision for the separation of witnesses from each other.

INDICTABLE CASES OTHER THAN CASES BROUGHT UNDER SECTION 47 OF THE PRINCIPAL ACT. 9. (1) Where a person charged with an indictable offence has been sent forward by a Justice of the District Court for trial to the Central Criminal Court or to the Circuit Court on such charge, and the High Court makes an Order for the transfer of the trial of such person on such charge to the Court, the appropriate County Registrar, within seven days of the making thereof, shall transmit to the Registrar all documents and exhibits in his custody relating to the trial of such person on such charge together with the indictment (if any) which shall have been filed with him relating to such trial.

(2) In any such case the Chief State Solicitor shall file with the Registrar a certified copy of the Order of the High Court within seven days of the making thereof. 10. (1) In the case of an indictable offence the Chief State Solicitor shall file with the Registrar an indictment containing the charges to be preferred against the person charged.

(2) The provisions of the Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1924 , and section 18 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall, with necessary modifications, apply to every such indictment. 11. Where, in the case of an indictable offence,

( a ) a person is sent forward to the Court for trial by a Justice of the District Court, or

( b ) the High Court has under the Principal Act transferred the trial of any person to the Court,

such person shall be entitled, on applying therefor to the Registrar, to receive from the Registrar free of charge

(i) a copy of the indictment, and

(ii) copies of the depositions (if any) relating to the offences with which he is charged. 12. In the case of an indictable offence, where a person has been sent forward to the Court for trial the Director of Public Prosecutions shall cause to be served on him a list of any further witnesses whom he proposes to call at the trial, with a statement of the evidence that is to be given by each of them, a list of any further exhibits, a statement of any further evidence that is to be given by any witness whose name appears on the list of witnesses already supplied, and copies of any statement recorded, or any deposition taken under section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , and any deposition taken under section 14 of that Act. 13. Where a person charged with an indictable offence is sent or sent forward by a Justice of the District Court to the Court for trial, the Clerk for the Court area where such order was made shall, within seven days of the making of the order, transmit to the Registrar such of the following documents as are relevant to the case:—

( a ) a statement of the charges upon which the accused was sent or sent forward for trial,

( b ) any sworn information in writing upon which the proceedings were initiated,

( c ) a list of witnesses whom it is proposed to call at the trial,

( d ) a statement of the...