Criminal Procedure Act, 1967

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Number 12 of 1967

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT, 1967

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I

Preliminary

PART II

Preliminary Examination of Indictable Offences in the District Court

PART III

Remand

PART IV

Miscellaneous

SCHEDULE

Enactments Repealed

Number 12 of 1967

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT, 1967

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A NEW PROCEDURE FOR THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF INDICTABLE OFFENCES AND FOR THIS AND OTHER PURPOSES TO AMEND CRIMINAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATION. [13th June, 1967]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I

Preliminary

Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967.

Commencement.

2.—Section 3 and Parts II and III shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Justice by order appoints.

Repeals.

3.—Each of the enactments mentioned in the Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column.

Prosecutor.

4.—In this Act “the prosecutor”, in relation to an offence, means the person by whom the offence is prosecuted, being the Attorney General, a person prosecuting at the suit of the Attorney General or a person authorised by law to prosecute.

PART II

Preliminary Examination of Indictable Offences in the District Court

Procedure.

5.—(1) Where an accused person is before the District Court charged with an indictable offence then, unless the case is being tried summarily or the accused pleads guilty, the justice shall conduct a preliminary examination of the charge in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(2) References in any enactment to the preliminary investigation of an indictable offence shall be construed as references to the procedure set out in this Part.

Documents to be served on accused.

6.—(1) The prosecutor shall cause the following documents to be served on the accused—

(a) a statement of the charges against him,

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

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

(d) a statement of the evidence that is to be given by each of them, and

(e) a list of exhibits (if any).

(2) Copies of the documents shall also be furnished to the Court.

(3) The accused shall have the right to inspect all exhibits.

(4) The prosecutor may cause to be served on the accused and furnished to the Court a further statement of the evidence to be given by any witness a statement of whose evidence has already been supplied.

Preliminary examination.

7.—(1) The justice shall consider the documents and exhibits, any deposition or statement taken in accordance with this section and any submissions that may be made by or on behalf of the prosecutor or the accused.

(2) The prosecutor and the accused shall each be entitled to give evidence on sworn deposition and also to require the attendance before the justice of any person, whether included in the supplied list of witnesses or not, and to examine him by way of sworn deposition.

(3) A witness under subsection (2) may be cross-examined and re-examined on his evidence. His deposition shall be taken down in writing, read over to him and signed by him and by the justice.

(4) (a) The justice shall ask the accused if he has anything to say in answer to the charge. The justice shall caution the accused that he is not obliged to say anything unless he wishes to do so and that whatever he does say will be taken down in writing and, if he is sent forward for trial, may be given in evidence at his trial.

(b) Whatever the accused says in answer to the justice's question and caution shall be taken down in writing and read over to him and shall be signed by the justice.

(c) The accused's statement, appearing to be so signed, may be given in evidence at his trial without further proof unless it is proved that it was not signed by the justice by whom it purports to have been signed.

(d) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the prosecutor from giving in evidence any confession, or other statement made at any time by the accused, which is admissible by law as evidence against the accused.

Decision on preliminary examination.

8.—(1) If the justice is of opinion that there is a sufficient case to put the accused on trial for the offence with which he has been charged, he shall send him forward for trial.

(2) If the justice is of opinion that there is a sufficient case to put the accused on trial for some indictable offence other than that charged, he shall cause him to be charged with that offence, proceed in accordance with section 7 (4), which shall have effect with the omission of the words “if he is sent forward for trial” in paragraph (a), and, unless section 13 applies, send him forward for trial.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) are subject to the provisions of section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 , which relates to minor offences.

(4) If the justice is of opinion that a summary offence only is disclosed, and the Attorney General consents, he shall cause the accused to be charged with the summary offence and deal with the case accordingly.

(5) If none of the foregoing provisions applies, the justice shall order the accused to be discharged as to the offence under examination.

(6) An order of a justice sending an accused person forward for trial shall be in writing signed by the justice.

Witness order.

9.—(1) The justice shall, if he decides to send the accused forward for trial, make an order (in this section referred to as a witness order) in respect of each person a statement of whose evidence has been supplied or whose deposition has been taken under this Part requiring him to attend and give evidence before the court by which the accused is to be tried and to produce any document or thing specified in the order.

(2) A person who without just excuse disobeys a witness order requiring him to attend before any court shall be guilty of contempt of that court.

(3) If, on the application of the Attorney General or an accused person, the justice is satisfied by evidence on oath that a particular person is unlikely to comply with a witness order, the justice may bind him by recognisance to appear at the trial and if he refuses to be so bound the justice may by warrant commit him to custody until the trial or until he enters into the recognisance; and the justice shall have the same powers for enforcing the attendance of such person before him for the purposes of this subsection as the District Court has in relation to witnesses in criminal proceedings.

Witness summons.

10.—(1) A summons (in this section referred to as a witness summons) may, on the application of the Attorney General or an accused person, be issued out of the court to which the accused has been sent forward for trial requiring the person to whom it is directed to attend before the trial court and give evidence at the trial and to produce any document or thing specified in thesummons, unless the court is satisfied that such person cannot give any material evidence or, as the case may be, produce any document or thing likely to be material evidence.

(2) A person who without just excuse disobeys a witness summons shall be guilty of contempt of the court out of which the summons was issued.

(3) This section is without prejudice to any other powers for enforcing the attendance of witnesses at the trial.

Additional documents.

11.—(1) Where the accused has been sent forward for trial the Attorney General 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 under section 7 and any deposition taken under that section or under section 14.

(2) Copies of the documents shall also be furnished to the trial court.

Waiver by accused of preliminary examination.

12.—(1) The accused may waive the preliminary examination and elect to be sent forward for trial with a plea of not guilty, unless the prosecutor requires the attendance of a witness under section 7 (2).

(2) In the event of such waiver, the justice shall send him forward for trial and the Attorney General shall cause to be served on him any documents required to be supplied to the accused and not already served.

(3) Copies of the documents shall also be furnished to the trial court.

(4) A child or young person (within the meaning of the Children Acts, 1908 to 1957) shall not be permitted to exercise a waiver under this section except with the consent of the parent or guardian having the actual possession and control of him.

Procedure where accused pleads guilty in District Court to indictable offence.

[1951, ss. 3, 4].

13.—(1) This section applies to all indictable offences except the following—an offence under the Treason Act, 1939 , murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy to murder, piracy or a grave breach such as is referred to in section 3 (1) (i) of the Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 , including an offence by an accessory before or after the fact.

(2) If at any time the District Court ascertains that a person charged with an offence to which this section applies wishes to plead guilty and the Court is satisfied that he understands the nature of the offence and the facts alleged, the Court may—

(a) with the consent of the Attorney General, deal with the offence summarily, in which case the accused shall be liable to the penalties provided for by subsection (3), or

(b) if the accused signs a plea of guilty, send him forward for sentence with that plea to a court to which, if he had pleaded not guilty, he could lawfully have been sent forward for trial.

(3) (a) On conviction by the District Court for an offence dealt with summarily under subsection (2) (a), the accused shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £100 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) In the case, however, of an offence under section 11 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 , the District Court shall not impose a fine exceeding £10 or a term of imprisonment exceeding one month.

(4) (a) Where a person is sent forward for sentence under this section he may withdraw his written plea and plead not guilty to the charge.

(b) In that event, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty, which shall have the same operation and effect in all respects as an order of a justice of the District Court sending the accused forward for trial to that court on that charge, and the Attorney General shall cause to be served on him any documents required to be supplied to the accused and not already served.

(5) This section shall not affect the jurisdiction of the Court under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 .

Further power to take depositions.

14.—(1) Where, on the application of the prosecutor or an accused person, a justice of the District Court is of opinion that a prospective witness may be unable to attend or be prevented from attending to give evidence at the trial of the accused and that it is necessary in the interests of justice to take his evidence by way of sworn deposition, he may order accordingly.

(2) The deposition shall be taken in the presence of a justice of the District Court and of the accused. It shall be taken down in writing, read over to the deponent and signed by him and by the justice.

(3) Before the deposition is taken, the justice shall inform the accused of the circumstances in which it may be read as evidence at his trial.

(4) The deponent may be cross-examined and re-examined on his evidence.

(5) The justice shall have the same powers for enforcing compliance with this section by a prospective witness and for securing the attendance of the accused as the District Court has in relation to witnesses in criminal proceedings.

(6) Where the accused has been sent forward for trial the right of application given to the prosecutor by subsection (1) shall be exercisable by, and only by, the Attorney General.

Deposition as evidence.

[1951, s. 9].

15.—(1) A deposition taken under section 7 or 14 may, subject to subsection (2), be read as evidence at the trial of the accused if it is proved that—

(a) the deponent is dead or unable to attend or prevented from attending to give evidence at the trial, and

(b) the deposition was taken in the presence of the accused, and

(c) an opportunity was given for the cross-examination and re-examination of the deponent.

(2) Except in the case of the deponent's death—

(a) a deposition taken under section 7 on the application of the prosecutor shall not be read unless the accused consents;

(b) a deposition taken under section 14 shall not be read if the trial judge considers that to do so would not be in the interests of justice.

Power to exclude public.

[1951, s. 20(1) (a)].

16.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and any other enactment, a preliminary examination shall be in open court.

(2) Where the court is satisfied, because of the nature or circumstances of the case or otherwise in the interests of justice, that it is desirable, the court may exclude the public or any particular portion of the public or any particular person or persons except bona fide representatives of the Press from the court during the hearing.

(3) Subsection (2) is without prejudice to the right of a parent, relative or friend of the accused or of an injured party to remain in court in any case to which section 20 (4) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 , applies.

Prohibition of publication of proceedings.

[cf. 1951, s. 20].

17.—(1) No person shall publish or cause to be published any information as to any particular preliminary examination other than a statement of the fact that such examination in relation to a named person on a specified charge has been held and of the decision thereon.

(2) If it appears to a justice of the District Court, on the application of the Attorney General, that any person has contravened subsection (1), he may certify to that effect under his hand to the High Court and the Court may thereupon inquire into the alleged offence and after hearing any witnesses who may be produced against or on behalf of that person, and after hearing any statement that may be offered in defence, punish or take steps for the punishment of that person in the like manner as if he had been guilty of contempt of the Court.

(3) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the publication of such information as the justice by whom the preliminary examination was conducted permits to be published at the request of the accused.

Inclusion of further counts in indictment.

18.—Where a person has been sent forward for trial under this Part the indictment against him may include, either in substitution for or in addition to counts charging the offence for which he has been sent forward, any counts founded on any of the documents (including any depositions and any statement taken under section 7) and exhibits considered by the justice at the preliminary examination, being counts which may lawfully be joined in the same indictment.

Amendment of Criminal Justice Act, 1951, and Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962.

19.—(1) Section 2 (2) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 , is hereby amended by the substitution, for paragraph (b), of the following paragraph:

“(b) A person shall not be tried summarily for an offence specified in the First Schedule at reference numbers 1, 2, 3 or 9 or for an offence specified therein at reference number 8 or 15 which involves property the value of which, in the opinion of the Court, exceeds two hundred pounds or for an attempt to commit any of the aforesaid offences unless the Attorney General has consented to his being so tried.”

(2) The First Schedule to the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 (which specifies the indictable offences which may be tried summarily with the consent of the accused) is hereby amended—

(a) by the deletion of the matter set out at reference numbers 8, 14 and 15 and the insertion of—

“8. An offence under the Larceny Act, 1861.

14. An offence under section 25, 26, 27 or 28 of the Larceny Act, 1916.

15. An offence under any provision (other than sections 25, 26, 27 and 28) of the Larceny Act, 1916.”;

(b) by the deletion of the matter set out at reference number 18;

(c) by the insertion of the following additional references:

“22. An offence under section 13 of the Debtors (Ireland) Act, 1872.

23. An offence under sections 20, 21, 22, 23 or 51 of the Malicious Damage Act, 1861.”

(3) Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 , shall not apply in relation to proceedings under this Part unless the accused is charged with murder.

Consent of Attorney General.

20.—The consent of the Attorney General under any provision of this Part may be conveyed in writing signed by the Attorney General or orally by a person prosecuting at the suit of the Attorney General or appearing on his behalf.

PART III

Remand

Power to remand.

21.—Where an accused person is before the District Court in connection with an offence the Court may, subject to the provisions of this Part, remand the accused from time to time as occasion requires.

Remand in custody or on bail by the District Court.

22.—(1) Where the District Court remands a person or sends him forward for trial or sentence, the Court may—

(a) commit him to prison or other lawful custody, or

(b) release him conditionally on his entering into a recognisance, with or without sureties.

In this Part, references to “custody” are to a committal under paragraph (a) and references to “bail” are to a conditional release under paragraph (b).

(2) The Court may, instead of taking a recognisance from a person in accordance with subsection (1), fix the amount of the recognisance in which he and his sureties, if any, are to be bound with a view to their being subsequently taken in accordance with subsection (3) and in the meantime commit him to custody in accordance with subsection (1) (a).

(3) Where the Court fixes the amount of a recognisance under subsection (2), the recognisance may thereafter be taken by a justice of the Court or by a peace commissioner.

(4) Where a person is brought before the Court after remand under subsection (1) the Court may further remand him.

Form of recognisance.

23.—(1) Where a person is remanded on bail under section 22 the recognisance shall be conditioned for his appearance before the Court at the end of the period of remand and at every place and time to which during the course of the proceedings the hearing may be adjourned.

(2) The fixing at any time of the time for the next appearance shall be deemed to be a remand.

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) shall deprive the Court of power at any subsequent hearing to remand him afresh.

Period of remand.

24.—(1) The Court shall not remand a person for a period exceeding eight days, except where this section otherwise provides.

(2) Where the Court remands a person on bail, it may remand him for a longer period than eight days if he and the prosecutor consent.

(3) Where the Court remands a person in custody (other than on the occasion of his first appearance before the Court) it may remand him for a period exceeding eight days but not exceeding thirty days if he and the prosecutor consent.

(4) If the Court is satisfied that any person who has been remanded is unable by reason of illness or accident to appear or to be brought before the Court at the expiration of the period of remand, the Court may, in his absence, remand him for such further period, which may exceed eight days, as the Court considers reasonable.

(5) Where there is no sitting of the Court on the day to which a person is remanded, he shall stand remanded to the sitting of the Court next held in the same district court district.

Remand to custody of Garda Síochána.

25.—(1) The Court may, where it remands a person in custody for a period not exceeding four days, commit him to the custody of a member of the Garda Síochána.

(2) Outside the Dublin Metropolitan Police District the Court, before so remanding him, shall satisfy itself that suitable facilities are available for the custody of such person during the period of remand.

Acceptance of deposit in lieu of sureties.

26.—Where a justice of the District Court or peace commissioner decides to admit to bail a person charged with an offence, he may direct that a sum of money equivalent to the amount of bail be accepted in lieu of a surety or sureties.

Sufficiency of bailsmen.

27.—The justice or peace commissioner shall in every case satisfy himself as to the sufficiency of the persons proposed to be accepted as bailsmen.

Provisions as to admission to bail.

28.—(1) A justice of the District Court or a peace commissioner shall admit to bail a person charged before him with an offence, other than an offence to which section 29 applies, if it appears to him to be a case in which bail ought to be allowed.

(2) Refusal of bail at a particular appearance before the District Court shall not prevent a renewal of the application for bail at a subsequent appearance or while the accused is in custody awaiting trial.

(3) Where an application for bail is refused, or where the applicant is dissatisfied with the bail, he may appeal to the High Court.

(4) When a justice or a peace commissioner grants bail to an accused person who is in custody that person shall, on completion of the recognisance, be released if he is in custody for no other cause than the offence in respect of which bail is granted.

Bail in case of treason, murder and certain other offences.

29.—(1) This section applies to each of the following offences—

(a) treason,

(b) an offence under section 2 or 3 of the Treason Act, 1939 ,

(c) an offence under section 6 , 7 or 8 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 ,

(d) a grave breach such as is referred to in section 3 (1) (i) of the Geneva Conventions Act, 1962 ,

(e) an offence under section 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1963 , or an offence under Part II of that Act committed in a manner prejudicial to the safety or preservation of the State,

(f) murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy to murder or piracy, including an accessory before or after the fact.

(2) A person charged with an offence to which this section applies shall not be admitted to bail except by order of the High Court.

(3) If in the course of proceedings, including proceedings on appeal, in relation to the grant of bail to a person charged with an offence under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (e) of subsection (1), application is made by the prosecutor, on the ground that the publication of any evidence or statement to be given or made during any part of the hearing would be prejudicial to the safety or preservation of the State, that that part of the proceedings should be in camera, the Court shall make an order to that effect, but the decision of the Court shall be announced in public.

Endorsement on warrants as to release on bail.

30.—(1) A justice of the District Court or a peace commissioner on issuing a warrant for the arrest of any person may, if he thinks fit, by endorsement on the warrant, direct that the person named in the warrant be on arrest released on his entering into such a recognisance, with or without sureties, for his appearance as may be specified in the endorsement, and the endorsement shall fix the amounts in which that person and his sureties (if any) are to be bound.

(2) Where such an endorsement is made, the sergeant or other member of the Gárda Síochána in charge of any station to which on arrest the person named in the warrant is brought shall discharge him upon his entering into a recognisance, with or without sureties approved by that member, in accordace with the endorsement.

Release on bail in certain cases by members of Garda Síochána.

[1951, s. 14].

31.—(1) Whenever a person is brought in custody to a Garda Síochána station by a member of the Garda Síochána, the sergeant or other member in charge of the station may, if he considers it prudent to do so and no warrant directing the detention of that person is in force, release him on bail and for that purpose take from him a recognisance, with or without sureties, for his due appearance before the District Court at the appropriate time and place.

(2) The recognisance may be estreated in the like manner as a recognisance entered into before a justice is estreated.

(3) A sum of money equivalent to the amount of bail may be accepted in lieu of a surety or sureties. The money shall be deposited by the member of the Garda Síochána receiving it with the district court clerk for the district court area in which the Garda Síochána station is situate.

(4) This section does not apply to a person arrested under section 251 of the Defence Act, 1954 , on suspicion of being a deserter or an absentee without leave from the Defence Forces.

Proceedings to estreat recognisance.

32.—Where a person has failed to appear before a court in accordance with his recognisance, any proceedings to estreat the recognisance shall be taken in that court.

Arrest of accused about to abscond.

33.—(1) Where a person charged with an offence has been admitted to bail, a justice of the District Court or a peace commissioner may, if he thinks fit, on the application of the surety or any of the sureties of the accused or of a member of the Garda Síochána and upon information being made in writing and on oath by or on behalf of such surety or member that the accused is about to abscond for the purpose of evading justice, issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused.

(2) When arrested he shall be brought before a justice of the District Court.

(3) If the accused is brought before a justice otherwise than at a sitting of the Court for the district in which the order sending him forward for trial was made or, if he is on remand, of the Court before which he was bound by his recognisance to appear, the justice shall remand him to appear before such a sitting as aforesaid, and for this purpose the justice shall have the powers of remand conferred on the Court by this Part.

(4) The Court sitting as aforesaid may commit the accused to prison to await his trial or until he enters into a fresh recognisance or, if he is on remand, further remand him.

PART IV

Miscellaneous

Reference of question of law to Supreme Court.

34.—(1) Where, on a question of law, a verdict in favour of an accused person is found by direction of the trial judge, the Attorney General may, without prejudice to the verdict in favour of the accused, refer the question of law to the Supreme Court for determination.

(2) The statement of the question to be referred to the Supreme Court shall be settled by the Attorney General after consultation with the judge by whom the direction was given and shall include any observations which the judge may wish to add.

(3) The Supreme Court shall assign counsel to argue in support of the decision.

Amendment of section 52 of Extradition Act, 1965.

35.— Section 52 of the Extradition Act, 1965 , is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsection:

“(2A) A recognisance may be taken from a person under this section by the member of the Garda Síochána into whose custody he has been committed.”

Explanation of “imprisonment” in Part III of Extradition Act, 1965.

36.—In order to remove doubts it is hereby declared that references to imprisonment in Part III of the Extradition Act, 1965 , whether in relation to the State or to any other place, include references to any form of lawful custody of the person affected.

Offences under the law of Scotland.

37.—(1) For the purposes of Part III of the Extradition Act, 1965 —

(a) an offence punishable under the law of Scotland by death or by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least six months shall be treated as being an indictable offence and not also a summary offence if it is certified by a Procurator Fiscal that the offence is an indictable offence so punishable and that it will not be prosecuted summarily, and

(b) an offence punishable under the said law by such imprisonment shall be treated as being a summary offence if it is certified, as aforesaid, that it will be prosecuted cummarily and that it is so punishable.

(2) A certificate appearing to be given by a Procurator Fiscal may without further evidence—

(a) be accepted by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána,

(b) be admitted in any proceedings, unless the court sees good reason to the contrary,

as evidence of the matters so certified.

(3) In this section “Procurator Fiscal” includes a Depute.

(4) This section shall be construed as one with Part III of the Extradition Act, 1965 .

Offences under the laws of the Channel Islands.

38.—(1) This section applies in relation to the Channel Islands, namely, Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

(2) For the purposes of Part III of the Extradition Act, 1965 , an offence punishable under the law of Jersey or of any part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey by death or by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least six months shall be treated as being an indictable offence and not also a summary offence if it is certified by the Attorney General for Jersey or Guernsey, as the case may be, that the offence is an indictable offence and that it is punishable by death or by such imprisonment.

(3) A certificate appearing to be given by the appropriate Attorney General may without further evidence—

(a) be accepted by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána,

(b) be admitted in any proceedings, unless the court sees good reason to the contrary,

as evidence of the matters so certified.

(4) In this section “Attorney General” includes a person for the time being exercising the functions of that office.

(5) This section shall be construed as one with Part III of the Extradition Act 1965.

SCHEDULE

Enactments Repealed

Section 3.