Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006
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Verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. |
5.— (1) Where an accused person is tried for an offence and, in the case of the District Court or Special Criminal Court, the court or, in any other case, the jury finds that the accused person committed the act alleged against him or her and, having heard evidence relating to the mental condition of the accused given by a consultant psychiatrist, finds that— | |
(a) the accused person was suffering at the time from a mental disorder, and | ||
(b) the mental disorder was such that the accused person ought not to be held responsible for the act alleged by reason of the fact that he or she— | ||
(i) did not know the nature and quality of the act, or | ||
(ii) did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong, or | ||
(iii) was unable to refrain from committing the act, | ||
the court or the jury, as the case may be, shall return a special verdict to the effect that the accused person is not guilty by reason of insanity. | ||
(2) If the court, having considered any report submitted to it in accordance with subsection (3) and such other evidence as may be adduced before it, is satisfied that an accused person found not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to subsection (1) is suffering from a mental disorder (within the meaning of the Act of 2001) and is in need of in-patient care or treatment in a designated centre, the court shall commit that person to a specified designated centre until an order is made under section 13 . | ||
(3) (a) For the purposes of subsection (2), if the court considers that an accused person found not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to subsection (1) is suffering from a mental disorder (within the meaning of the Act of 2001) and may be in need of in-patient care or treatment in a designated centre, the court may commit that person to a specified designated centre for a period of not more than 14 days and direct that during such period he or she be examined by an approved medical officer at that centre. | ||
(b) The court may, on application to it in that behalf by any party and, if it considers it appropriate to do so, after consultation with an approved medical officer, extend the period of committal under this subsection, but the period or the aggregate of the periods for which an accusedperson may be committed under this subsection shall not exceed 6 months. | ||
(c) Within the period of committal authorised by the court under this subsection the approved medical officer concerned shall report to the court on whether in his or her opinion the accused person committed under paragraph (a) is suffering from a mental disorder (within the meaning of the Act of 2001) and is in need of in-patient care or treatment in a designated centre. | ||
(4) Where on a trial for murder the accused contends— | ||
(a) that at the time of the alleged offence he or she was suffering from a mental disorder such that he or she ought to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, or | ||
(b) that at that time he or she was suffering from a mental disorder specified in section 6 (1)(c), | ||
the court shall allow the prosecution to adduce evidence tending to prove the other of those contentions, and may give directions as to the stage of the proceedings at which the prosecution may adduce such evidence. |