{"id":1861,"date":"2021-08-11T23:17:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T23:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=1861"},"modified":"2021-08-14T08:46:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T08:46:00","slug":"special-criminal-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/special-criminal-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Criminal Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/special-criminal-court\/#Special_Criminal_Court\" title=\"Special Criminal Court\">Special Criminal Court<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/special-criminal-court\/#Offences_Covered\" title=\"Offences Covered\">Offences Covered<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/special-criminal-court\/#Non-Scheduled_Offences\" title=\"Non-Scheduled Offences\">Non-Scheduled Offences<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/special-criminal-court\/#Procedure\" title=\"Procedure\">Procedure<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Special_Criminal_Court\"><\/span>Special Criminal Court<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The \u00a0Special Criminal Court operates under the Offences against the State Act.\u00a0 It is brought into force by a resolution of Dail Eireann.\u00a0 The Special Criminal Court was reconstituted in 1972 and has remained in force since.<\/p>\n<p>The Special Criminal Court may be constituted if and whenever and so often as the government is satisfied that the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order and that it is, therefore, necessary that the power should be exercised.<\/p>\n<p>The Special Criminal Court applies to so-called scheduled offences.\u00a0 These were originally subversive terrorist type offences.\u00a0 The schedule of offo<span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;\">enses has been broadened significantly, to cover certain other categories of serious offences.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Offences_Covered\"><\/span>Offences Covered<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Whenever the government is satisfied that the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of peace and order in relation to offences of a particular kind or under particular legislation, it may order the offences to be scheduled offences. The legislation declaring offences to be scheduled offences expires and must be renewed annually by the Oireachtas.<\/p>\n<p>The Criminal Justice Act 2006 as amended, provided that certain offences under the Act including offences by criminal organisations, directing a criminal organisation and participating in certain activities would be scheduled offences for the purpose of the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever a person is brought before the District Court, charged with a scheduled offence for which there is jurisdiction to dispose summarily, the Court shall if the DPP so requests, send the person forward in custody or on bail for trial by the Special Criminal Court on such charge.<\/p>\n<p>The DPP may direct disposal of scheduled indictable offences by the ordinary courts, in which event, the accused is not to be sent forward to the Special Criminal Court.<\/p>\n<p>Where it is intended to charge a person with a scheduled offence, the DPP may if he thinks proper, direct that the person shall in lieu of being charged before a District Court Judge, be charged before the Special Criminal Court.\u00a0 He shall be charged with such defence and upon such direction being given, such person shall be brought before the Special Criminal Court and charged before that Court with the offence and tried by it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Non-Scheduled_Offences\"><\/span>Non-Scheduled Offences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where a person is brought before a District Court charged with an offence which is not a scheduled offence, the DPP may certify in writing that the ordinary Courts are in his opinion inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and preservation of public peace and order in relation to the trial of such person.\u00a0 In this case, the person shall be sent for trial to the Special Criminal Court on such charge.<\/p>\n<p>Where a person is brought before the District Court charged with an indictable offence which is not a scheduled offence, the Judge shall if an application is made on behalf of the DPP, grounded on a certificate that the ordinary courts of justice are not adequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order, in relation to the trial of the person in that charge, require that the person be sent forward in custody or with the consent of the DPP, at liberty on bail for trial in the Special Criminal Court for such charge.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever it is intended to charge a person with an offence that is not a scheduled offence and the DPP certifies that the ordinary Courts are in his opinion inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order in relation to the trial of such person and that charge, the above provision shall apply as if the person was to be charged with a scheduled offence. There is a provision for the transfer of files from ordinary courts to Special Criminal Courts.<\/p>\n<p>Where a person charged with an offence has been sent forward by a District Court judge for trial in the Central Criminal Court or Circuit Court, then if the DPP certifies that the ordinary Courts are in his opinion inadequate to secure the effective administration of justice and the preservation of public peace and order in relation to the trial of that person and that offence, the DPP shall cause an application to be made to the High Court for the transfer of the trial to the Special Criminal Court.\u00a0 The High Court shall make the order applied for, the person shall be deemed to be sent forward to the Special Criminal Court for trial on that charge.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Procedure\"><\/span>Procedure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where a person has been sent forward for trial to the Special Criminal Court, the DPP shall cause to be served on him, a list of further witnesses, he proposes to call at trial with the statement of the evidence that is to be given by each of them, a list of further exhibits, a statement of any further evidence to be given by any witness whose names appears on the list already supplied.<\/p>\n<p>Where a person charged with an indictable offence is sent forward to the Special Criminal Court, the Clerk of the court shall transmit documents to the Registrar of the Special Criminal Court.<\/p>\n<p>Where a person is brought before a District Court charged with an offence which may be disposed of summarily and the Judge has sent such person to the Special Criminal Court for trial, the chief prosecuting solicitor, shall within seven days of the making of such order, furnish to such person, a list of the charges to be prepared against him with a summary of the evidence to be given at trial. \u00a0Such summary shall not preclude the production of further evidence as may be adduced by the prosecution at trial.<\/p>\n<p>Where a person is sent forward in custody for trial in the Special Criminal Court, it is lawful for the High Court on application to allow him to be at liberty on such bail as it shall fix for his due attendance before the Special Criminal Court.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-1861\" data-postid=\"1861\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-1861 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Criminal Court The \u00a0Special Criminal Court operates under the Offences against the State Act.\u00a0 It is brought into force by a resolution of Dail Eireann.\u00a0 The Special Criminal Court was reconstituted in 1972 and has remained in force since. The Special Criminal Court may be constituted if and whenever and so often as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1862,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1861\/revisions\/1862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}