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| Time limits: supplementary. |
70. - (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence, the exercise of power conferred by virtue of section 69(2)(e) in relation to proceedings for the offence shall not be called into question on an appeal against the conviction.
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(2) In the application of section 69 in relation to proceedings on indictment, "preliminary stage" does not include a stage-
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(a) after the time when the case for the prosecution is opened, or |
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(b) if the court accepts a plea of guilty before the case for the prosecution is opened, after the plea is accepted. |
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(3) In the application of section 69 in relation to summary proceedings, "preliminary stage" does not include a stage-
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(a) after the court begins to hear evidence for the prosecution at the trial, |
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(b) if the court accepts a plea of guilty before it has begun to hear evidence for the prosecution, after the plea is accepted, or |
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(c) after the court begins to consider whether to exercise its power under Article 44(4) of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (power to make hospital order without conviction). |
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(4) In this section and section 69-
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"custody of the Crown Court" includes custody to which a person is committed in pursuance of- |
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(a) Article 37 or 40(4) of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (magistrates' court committing accused for trial), or
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(b) section 51(8) of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 (magistrates' court dealing with a person arrested under Crown Court warrant),
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"custody of a magistrates' court" means custody to which a person is committed in pursuance of Article 47 or 49 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (remand), |
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"custody time limit" means a time limit imposed by regulations in pursuance of section 69(1)(b) or, where a limit has been extended by the Crown Court by virtue of section 69(2)(e), the limit as extended, |
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(a) the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981,
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(b) section 64 of this Act,
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(c) any other enactment relating to bail, and
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(d) any rule of law relating to bail, and
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"overall time limit" means a time limit imposed by regulations in pursuance of section 69(1)(a) or, where a limit has been extended by the Crown Court by virtue of section 69(2)(e), the limit as extended. |
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(5) For the purposes of the application of a custody time limit in relation to a person who is in the custody of a magistrates' court or the Crown Court-
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(a) all periods during which he is in the custody of a magistrates' court in respect of the same offence shall be aggregated and treated as a single continuous period; and |
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(b) all periods during which he is in the custody of the Crown Court in respect of the same offence shall be aggregated and treated as a single continuous period. |
| Court for trial. |
71. - (1) A trial on indictment of a scheduled offence shall be held only at the Crown Court sitting in Belfast, unless-
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(a) the Lord Chancellor after consultation with the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland directs that the trial, or a class of trials within which it falls, shall be held at the Crown Court sitting elsewhere, or |
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(b) the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland directs that the trial, or part of it, shall be held at the Crown Court sitting elsewhere. |
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(2) A person committed for trial for a scheduled offence, or for two or more offences at least one of which is a scheduled offence, shall be committed-
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(a) to the Crown Court sitting in Belfast, or |
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(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; |
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and section 48 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 (committal for trial on indictment) shall have effect accordingly.
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(3) Where-
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(a) a person is committed for trial to the Crown Court sitting in Belfast in accordance with subsection (2), and |
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(b) a direction is subsequently given under subsection (1), before the commencement of the trial, altering the place of trial, |
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the person shall be treated as having been committed for trial to the Crown Court sitting at the place specified in the direction.
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| Mode of trial on indictment. |
72. - (1) A trial on indictment of a scheduled offence shall be conducted by the court without a jury.
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(2) The court trying a scheduled offence on indictment under this section shall have all the powers, authorities and jurisdiction which the court would have had if it had been sitting with a jury (including power to determine any question and to make any finding which would, apart from this section, be required to be determined or made by a jury).
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(3) A reference in an enactment to a jury, the verdict of a jury or the finding of a jury shall, in relation to a trial under this section, be construed as a reference to the court, the verdict of the court or the finding of the court.
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(4) Where separate counts of an indictment allege a scheduled offence and a non-scheduled offence, the trial on indictment shall be conducted as if all the offences alleged in the indictment were scheduled offences.
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(5) Subsection (4) is without prejudice to section 5 of the Indictments Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 (orders for amendment of indictment, separate trial and postponement of trial).
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(6) Without prejudice to subsection (2), where the court trying a scheduled offence on indictment-
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(a) is not satisfied that the accused is guilty of the offence, but |
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(b) is satisfied that he is guilty of a non-scheduled offence of which a jury could have found him guilty on a trial for the scheduled offence, |
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the court may convict him of the non-scheduled offence.
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(7) Where the court trying a scheduled offence convicts the accused of that or some other offence, it shall give a judgment stating the reasons for the conviction at or as soon as is reasonably practicable after the time of conviction.
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(8) A person convicted of an offence on a trial under this section without a jury may, notwithstanding anything in sections 1 and 10(1) of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980, appeal to the Court of Appeal under Part I of that Act-
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(a) against his conviction, on any ground, without the leave of the Court of Appeal or a certificate of the judge of the court of trial; |
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(b) against sentence passed on conviction, without that leave, unless the sentence is fixed by law. |
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(9) Where a person is convicted of an offence on a trial under this section, the time for giving notice of appeal under section 16(1) of that Act shall run from the date of judgment if later than the date from which it would run under that subsection.
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| Admission in trial on indictment. |
73. - (1) This section applies to a trial on indictment for-
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(a) a scheduled offence, or |
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(b) two or more offences at least one of which is a scheduled offence. |
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(2) A statement made by the accused may be given in evidence by the prosecution in so far as-
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(a) it is relevant to a matter in issue in the proceedings, and |
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(b) it is not excluded or inadmissible (whether by virtue of subsections (3) to (5) or otherwise). |
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(3) Subsections (4) and (5) apply if in proceedings to which this section applies-
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(a) the prosecution gives or proposes to give a statement made by the accused in evidence, |
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(b) prima facie evidence is adduced that the accused was subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, violence or the threat of violence in order to induce him to make the statement, and |
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(c) the prosecution does not satisfy the court that the statement was not obtained in the manner mentioned in paragraph (b). |
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(4) If the statement has not yet been given in evidence, the court shall-
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(a) exclude the statement, or |
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(b) direct that the trial be restarted before a differently constituted court (before which the statement shall be inadmissible). |
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(5) If the statement has been given in evidence, the court shall-
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(b) direct that the trial be restarted before a differently constituted court (before which the statement shall be inadmissible). |
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(6) This section is without prejudice to any discretion of a court to-
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(a) exclude or ignore a statement, or |
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(b) direct a trial to be restarted, |
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where the court considers it appropriate in order to avoid unfairness to the accused or otherwise in the interests of justice.
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| Possession: onus of proof. |
74. - (1) This section applies to a trial on indictment for a scheduled offence where the accused is charged with possessing an article in such circumstances as to constitute an offence under any of the enactments listed in subsection (3).
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(2) If it is proved that the article-
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(a) was on any premises at the same time as the accused, or |
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(b) was on premises of which the accused was the occupier or which he habitually used otherwise than as a member of the public, |
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the court may assume that the accused possessed (and, if relevant, knowingly possessed) the article, unless he proves that he did not know of its presence on the premises or that he had no control over it.
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(3) The following are the offences mentioned in subsection (1)-
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The Explosive Substances Act 1883 |
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Section 3, so far as relating to subsection (1)(b) thereof (possessing explosive with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property).
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Section 4 (possessing explosive in suspicious circumstances).
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The Protection of the Person and Property Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 |
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Section 2 (possessing petrol bomb, &;c. in suspicious circumstances).
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The Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 |
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Article 6(1) (manufacturing, dealing in or possessing certain weapons, &;c.).
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Article 17 (possessing firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property).
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Article 18(2) (possessing firearm or imitation firearm at time of committing, or being arrested for, a specified offence).
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Article 22(1), (2) or (4) (possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment, &;c.).
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Article 23 (possessing firearm or ammunition in suspicious circumstances).
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| Young persons: sentence. |
75. - (1) This section applies where a child is convicted on indictment of a scheduled offence committed while this section is in force.
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(2) Article 45(2) of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (punishment for serious offence) shall have effect with the substitution for the words "14 years" of the words "five years".
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(3) In this section "child" means a person who has not attained the age of 17.
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