Criminal Justice Act, 1999

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Amendment of penalty provisions of Act of 1977.

5.— Section 27 of the Act of 1977 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsections:

“(3A) Every person guilty of an offence under section 15A shall be liable, on conviction on indictment—

(a) to imprisonment for life or such shorter period as the court may, subject to subsections (3B) and (3C) of this section, determine, and

(b) at the court's discretion, to a fine of such amount as the court considers appropriate.

(3B) Where a person (other than a child or young person) is convicted of an offence under section 15A, the court shall, in imposing sentence, specify as the minimum period of imprisonment to be served by that person a period of not less than 10 years imprisonment.

(3C) Subsection (3B) of this section shall not apply where the court is satisfied that there are exceptional and specific circumstances relating to the offence, or the person convicted of the offence, which would make a sentence of not less than 10 years imprisonment unjust in all the circumstances and for this purpose the court may have regard to any matters it considers appropriate, including—

(a)   whether that person pleaded guilty to the offence and, if so,

(i) the stage at which he indicated the intention to plead guilty, and

(ii) the circumstances in which the indication was given,

and

(b)   whether that person materially assisted in the investigation of the offence.

(3D) The power conferred by section 23 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1951 , to commute or remit a punishment shall not, in the case of a person serving a sentence imposed under subsection (3A) of this section, be exercised before the expiry of the minimum period specified by the court under subsection (3B) of this section less any reduction of that period under subsection (3E) of this section.

(3E) The rules or practice whereby prisoners generally may earn remission of sentence by industry and good conduct shall apply in the case of a person serving a sentence imposed under subsection (3A) of this section and the minimum period specified by the court under subsection (3B) of this section shall be reduced by the amount of any remission so earned by that person.

(3F) Any powers conferred by rules made under section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 , to release temporarily a person serving a sentence of imprisonment shall not, in the case of a person serving a sentence imposed under subsection (3A) of this section, be exercised during the period for which the commutation or remission of his punishment is prohibited by subsection (3D) of this section unless for grave reason of a humanitarian nature, and any release so granted shall be only of such limited duration as is justified by that reason.

(3G) In imposing a sentence on a person convicted of an offence under section 15A of this Act, a court—

(a) may inquire whether at the time of commission of the offence the person was addicted to one or more controlled drugs, and

(b) if satisfied that the person was so addicted at that time and that the addiction was a substantial factor leading to the commission of the offence, may list the sentence for review after the expiry of not less than one-half of the period specified by the court under subsection (3B) of this section.

(3H) On reviewing a sentence listed under subsection (3G) (b) of this section, the court—

(a) may suspend the remainder of the sentence on any conditions it considers fit, and

(b) in deciding whether to exercise its powers under this subsection, may have regard to any matters it considers appropriate.

(3I) Paragraph (a) of section 13(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , shall not apply in relation to an offence under section 15A of this Act, but that offence shall be deemed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of section 13(2) of that Act to be an offence to which section 13 of that Act applies.

(3J) The reference in subsection (3F) of this section to section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 , shall be construed to include that section as applied by section 4 of the Prisons Act, 1970 .”.