Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007
2007 Chapter 6
An Act to make provision about justice and security in Northern Ireland.
[24th May 2007]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Trials on indictment without a jury
1 Issue of certificate
(1) This section applies in relation to a person charged with one or more indictable offences ("the defendant").
(2) The Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland may issue a certificate that any trial on indictment of the defendant (and of any person committed for trial with the defendant) is to be conducted without a jury if—
(a) he suspects that any of the following conditions is met, and
(b) he is satisfied that in view of this there is a risk that the administration of justice might be impaired if the trial were to be conducted with a jury.
(3) Condition 1 is that the defendant is, or is an associate (see subsection (9)) of, a person who—
(a) is a member of a proscribed organisation (see subsection (10)), or
(b) has at any time been a member of an organisation that was, at that time, a proscribed organisation.
(4) Condition 2 is that—
(a) the offence or any of the offences was committed on behalf of a proscribed organisation, or
(b) a proscribed organisation was otherwise involved with, or assisted in, the carrying out of the offence or any of the offences.
(5) Condition 3 is that an attempt has been made to prejudice the investigation or prosecution of the offence or any of the offences and—
(a) the attempt was made on behalf of a proscribed organisation, or
(b) a proscribed organisation was otherwise involved with, or assisted in, the attempt.
(6) Condition 4 is that the offence or any of the offences was committed to any extent (whether directly or indirectly) as a result of, in connection with or in response to religious or political hostility of one person or group of persons towards another person or group of persons.
(7) In subsection (6) "religious or political hostility" means hostility based to any extent on—
(a) religious belief or political opinion,
(b) supposed religious belief or political opinion, or
(c) the absence or supposed absence of any, or any particular, religious belief or political opinion.
(8) In subsection (6) the references to persons and groups of persons need not include a reference to the defendant or to any victim of the offence or offences.
(9) For the purposes of this section a person (A) is the associate of another person (B) if—
(a) A is the spouse or a former spouse of B,
(b) A is the civil partner or a former civil partner of B,
(c) A and B (whether of different sexes or the same sex) live as partners, or have lived as partners, in an enduring family relationship,
(d) A is a friend of B, or
(e) A is a relative of B.
(10) For the purposes of this section an organisation is a proscribed organisation, in relation to any time, if at that time—
(a) it is (or was) proscribed (within the meaning given by section 11(4) of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) ), and
(b) its activities are (or were) connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland.
2 Certificates: supplementary
(1) If a certificate under section 1 is issued in relation to any trial on indictment of a person charged with one or more indictable offences ("the defendant"), it must be lodged with the court before the arraignment of—
(a) the defendant, or
(b) any person committed for trial on indictment with the defendant.
(2) A certificate lodged under subsection (1) may be modified or withdrawn by giving notice to the court at any time before the arraignment of—
(a) the defendant, or
(b) any person committed for trial on indictment with the defendant.
(3) In this section "the court" means—
(a) in relation to a time before the committal for trial on indictment of the defendant, the magistrates' court before which any proceedings for the offence or any of the offences mentioned in subsection (1) are being, or have been, conducted;
(b) otherwise, the Crown Court.
3 Preliminary inquiry
(1) This section applies where a certificate under section 1 has been issued in relation to any trial on indictment of a person charged with one or more indictable offences.
(2) In proceedings before a magistrates' court for the offence or any of the offences, if the prosecution requests the court to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the offence the court must grant the request.
(3) In subsection (2) "preliminary inquiry" means a preliminary inquiry under the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675
(N.I. 26)).
(4) Subsection (2)—
(a) applies notwithstanding anything in Article 31 of that Order,
(b) does not apply in respect of an offence where the court considers that in the interests of justice a preliminary investigation should be conducted into the offence under that Order, and
(c) does not apply in respect of an extra-territorial offence (as defined in section 1(3) of the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 (c. 59) ).
4 Court for trial
(1) A trial on indictment in relation to which a certificate under section 1 has been issued is to be held only at the Crown Court sitting in Belfast, unless the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland directs that—
(a) the trial,
(b) a part of the trial, or
(c) a class of trials within which the trial falls,
is to be held at the Crown Court sitting elsewhere.
(2) The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland may nominate any of the following to exercise his functions under subsection (1)—
(a) the holder of one of the offices listed in Schedule 1 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (c. 26) ;
(b) a Lord Justice of Appeal (as defined in section 88 of that Act).
(3) If a person is committed for trial on indictment and a certificate under section 1 has been issued in relation to the trial, the person must be committed—
(a) to the Crown Court sitting in Belfast, or
(b) where a direction has been given under subsection (1) which concerns the trial, to the Crown Court sitting at the place specified in the direction;
and section 48 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 (c. 23)
(committal for trial on indictment) has effect accordingly.
(4) Where—
(a) a person is committed for trial on indictment otherwise than to the Crown Court sitting at the relevant venue, and
(b) a certificate under section 1 is subsequently issued in relation to the trial,
the person is to be treated as having been committed for trial to the Crown Court sitting at the relevant venue.
(5) In subsection (4) "the relevant venue", in relation to a trial, means—
(a) if the trial falls within a class specified in a direction under subsection (1)(c) (or would fall within such a class had a certificate under section 1 been issued in relation to the trial), the place specified in the direction;
(b) otherwise, Belfast.
(6) Where—
(a) a person is committed for trial to the Crown Court sitting in Belfast in accordance with subsection (3) or by virtue of subsection (4), and
(b) a direction is subsequently given under subsection (1), before the commencement of the trial, altering the place of trial,
the person is to be treated as having been committed for trial to the Crown Court sitting at the place specified in the direction.
5 Mode of trial on indictment
(1) The effect of a certificate issued under section 1 is that the trial on indictment of—
(a) the person to whom the certificate relates, and
(b) any person committed for trial with that person,
is to be conducted without a jury.
(2) Where a trial is conducted without a jury under this section, the court is to have all the powers, authorities and jurisdiction which the court would have had if the trial had been conducted with a jury (including power to determine any question and to make any finding which would be required to be determined or made by a jury).
(3) Except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in an enactment (including a provision of Northern Ireland legislation) to a jury, the verdict of a jury or the finding of a jury is to be read, in relation to a trial conducted without a jury under this section, as a reference to the court, the verdict of the court or the finding of the court.
(4) No inference may be drawn by the court from the fact that the certificate has been issued in relation to the trial.
(5) Without prejudice to subsection (2), where the court conducting a trial under this section—
(a) is not satisfied that a defendant is guilty of an offence for which he is being tried ("the offence charged"), but
(b) is satisfied that he is guilty of another offence of which a jury could have found him guilty on a trial for the offence charged,
the court may convict him of the other offence.
(6) Where a trial is conducted without a jury under this section and the court convicts a defendant (whether or not by virtue of subsection (5)), the court must give a judgment which states the reasons for the conviction at, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, the time of the conviction.
(7) A person convicted of an offence on a trial under this section may, notwithstanding anything in sections 1 and 10(1) of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980 (c. 47)
, appeal to the Court of Appeal under Part 1 of that Act—
(a) against his conviction, on any...
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