Suspended sentences in practice
Tom Conlon discusses the development of – and problems with – the law on suspended sentencing in Ireland.
A Damocles sword
Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 put the common law on suspended sentencing on a statutory footing for the first time. It also dealt with such issues as the conditions to be attached to the sentence and the circumstances in which it could be revoked.
Teething problems
Following commencement back in October 2006, some immediate questions were posed about the legislation. Within a year of commencement, subsections 9 and 10 were amended and a completely new subsection 10A was inserted. Further amendments to section 99(9) were required in 2009. Meanwhile, the act has been subject to a high volume of judicial reviews.
New legislation
The Criminal Justice (Suspended Sentences of Imprisonment) Act 2017 was enacted in response to the decision in Moore v Director of Public Prosecutions. The act will be commenced on 9 April 2018. Aside from the problem raised in that case, a number of other issues have been addressed by the new act.
Tom Conlon is a solicitor in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Writing in a personal capacity for the Gazette, he analyses cases since 2006, and how the new legislation will affect criminal law practice.
- Read the full article in the March 2018 Gazette
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