Criminal Procedure Act 2021
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PART 3 Provision of Information to Juries | ||
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Provision of information to juries | ||
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12. (1) This section shall apply to any offence being tried on indictment other than an offence to which any of the following provisions apply: | ||
(a) section 1078C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ; | ||
(b) section 57 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 ; | ||
(c) section 10 of the Competition Act 2002 ; | ||
(d) section 56 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 ; | ||
(e) section 882 of the Companies Act 2014 . | ||
(2) In a trial of an offence to which this section applies, the trial judge may order that copies of any or all of the following documents or materials shall be given to the jury in any form that the judge considers appropriate: | ||
(a) any document admitted in evidence at the trial; | ||
(b) where such transcripts or audio recordings are available: | ||
(i) the transcript of the opening speeches of counsel or an audio recording of such speeches; | ||
(ii) the transcript of the whole or any part of the evidence given at the trial or an audio recording of such evidence; | ||
(iii) the transcript of the closing speeches of counsel or an audio recording of such speeches; | ||
(iv) the transcript of the trial judge’s charge to the jury or an audio recording of such charge; | ||
(c) any charts, diagrams, graphics, schedules or summaries of evidence produced at the trial; | ||
(d) any other document that in the opinion of the trial judge would be of assistance to the jury in its deliberations including, where appropriate, an affidavit by an accountant or other suitably qualified person summarising, in a form which is likely to be comprehended by the jury, any transactions by the accused or other persons which are relevant to the offence. | ||
(3) If the prosecution or the accused proposes to apply to the trial judge for an order that a document referred to in subsection (2)(d) shall be given to the jury, the prosecution or the accused, as the case may be, shall give a copy of the document to the other party in advance of the application and, on the hearing of the application, the trial judge shall take into account any representations made by or on behalf of either party in relation to it. | ||
(4) Where the trial judge has made an order that an affidavit referred to in subsection (2)(d) shall be given to the jury, the accountant or other suitably qualified person concerned— | ||
(a) shall be summoned by the prosecution or the accused, as the case may be, to attend at the trial as an expert witness, and | ||
(b) may be required by the trial judge, in an appropriate case, to give evidence in regard to the report and any relevant accounting procedures or principles. |