Juries
CRIMINAL JUSTICE (VERDICTS) ACT, 1976
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1.
Jurisdiction and powers of criminal court sitting without jury in relation to verdicts and other findings.
2.
Short title.
Acts Referred to
Lunacy (Ireland) Act, 1821
1821, c. 33
Trial of Lunatics Act, 1883
1883, c. 38
Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914
1914, c. 58
/static/images/base/harp.jpg
Number 34 of 1976
CRIMINAL JUSTICE (VERDICTS) ACT, 1976
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION OF COURTS. [7th December, 1976]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Jurisdiction and powers of criminal court sitting without jury in relation to verdicts and other findings.
1.—(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, where a person is lawfully before a court for trial for an offence, and the trial is being or to be held without a jury, the court shall have the same jurisdiction and powers to give any verdict or make any finding as the court or jury would have—
(a) if the court were a court sitting with a jury, and
(b) (in case the offence is triable only summarily) if the offence were triable on indictment,
and enactments and rules of law relating to a verdict or finding of a jury shall, with any necessary modifications, apply accordingly.
(2) Where a person is lawfully before a court charged with an offence, the court shall have jurisdiction to convict the person, on a plea of guilty, of another offence with which he is not specifically charged and of which he could be convicted by that court after trial for the offence specifically charged.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed as conferring on the District Court any powers exercisable under section 17 of the Lunacy (Ireland) Act, 1821 , or section 2 of the Trial of Lunatics Act, 1883.
(4) Section 39 (1) of the Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914 , is hereby repealed.
Short title.
2.—This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Verdicts) Act, 1976.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1984
Majority verdicts.
25.—(1) The verdict of a jury in criminal proceedings need not be unanimous in a case where there are not fewer than eleven jurors if ten of them agree on the verdict.
(2) The court shall not accept a verdict of guilty unless the foreman of the jury has stated in open court whether the verdict is unanimous or is by a majority in accordance with subsection (1) and, in the latter event, the number of jurors who agreed to the verdict.
(3) The court shall not accept a verdict by virtue of subsection (1) unless it appears to the court that the jury have had such period of time for deliberation as the court thinks reasonable having regard to the nature and complexity of the case; and the court shall not in any event accept such a verdict unless it appears to the court that the jury have had at least two hours for deliberation.
(4) The court shall cause the verdict of the jury to be taken in such a way that, where the verdict is one of not guilty, it shall not be indicated whether the verdict was unanimous or by a majority.
(5) This section shall not affect the trial of any offence for which the court is required, upon the conviction of the accused, to sentence him to death or any trial commenced before the commencement of this section.
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2021
PART 3
Provision of Information to Juries
Provision of information to juries
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