PART III

Endorsement and Execution of Certain Warrants

41. —This Part applies in relation to each of the following places, namely, Northern Ireland, England and Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

42. —In this Part—

“Commissioner of the Garda Síochána” and “Commissioner” include a Deputy Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner;

“district” means a district court district;

“indictable offence”, in relation to an offence under the law of a place in relation to which this Part applies, does not include an offence which is triable on indictment only at the instance or with the consent of the accused;

“summons” includes any citation or direction to a person accused of an offence to appear before a court in any place in relation to which this Part applies to answer to the accusation.

43. —(1) Where—

(a) a warrant has been issued by a judicial authority in a place in relation to which this Part applies for the arrest of a person accused or convicted of an offence under the law of that place, being an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least six months, and

(b) on production of the warrant to the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána it appears to the Commissioner that the person named or described therein may be found in the State,

the Commissioner shall, subject to the provisions of this Part, endorse the warrant for execution.

(2) The endorsement shall be in the following form:

“I, A.B., Commissioner [or Deputy or Assistant Commissioner] of the Garda Síochána, hereby authorise the execution of this warrant in the State by any member of the Garda Síochána.

Signed _________________________

Date _________________________”  

(3) A warrant for the arrest of a person convicted of an offence under the law of a place in relation to which this Part applies shall not be endorsed under this section unless the purpose of the arrest is to enable him—

(a) to be brought before a court in that place for sentence in respect of the conviction, or

(b) to be taken to a place where he is to undergo imprisonment under such a sentence, not being imprisonment in default of the payment of a fine or other sum.

44. —(1) A warrant shall not be endorsed for execution under this Part if the Minister or the High Court, on the question being referred to the Court by the Minister, directs in accordance with this section that it shall not be so endorsed.

(2) A direction under this section may be given where the Minister or the Court, as the case may be, is of opinion that the offence to which the warrant relates is—

(a) a political offence or an offence connected with a political offence, or

(b) an offence under military law which is not an offence under ordinary criminal law, or

(c) a revenue offence,

or that there are substantial reasons for believing that the person named or described in the warrant will, if removed from the State under this Part, be prosecuted or detained for a political offence or an offence connected with a political offence or an offence under military law which is not an offence under ordinary criminal law.

45. —(1) A warrant endorsed under section 43 may be executed by any member of the Garda Síochána in any part of the State.

(2) The person named or described in the warrant shall on arrest be brought before a justice of the District Court for the district in which he was arrested, if a justice is immediately available.

(3) If not, he shall be brought as soon as may be before a peace commissioner in that district.

46. —(1) A peace commissioner before whom an arrested person is brought under section 45 shall remand him, either in custody or on bail, to the earliest practicable sitting of the District Court in a district in which he acts, being a sitting to be held within eight days after the arrest.

(2) Where a person remanded on bail under subsection (1) fails to appear as required by his recognisance, the justice sitting at the court before which he was bound to appear may issue a warrant for his arrest; and on his arrest he shall be dealt with as if he had been arrested at that time under the warrant under which he was previously arrested.

47. —(1) Where a person named or described in a warrant is before the District Court in pursuance of this Part that Court shall, subject to the provisions of this Part, make an order for his delivery at some convenient point of departure from the State into the custody of a member of a police force of the place in which the warrant has been issued, for conveyance to that place, and remand him until so delivered.

(2) An order shall not be made under subsection (1) if it appears to the Court that the offence specified in the warrant does not correspond with any offence under the law of the State which is an indictable offence or is punishable on summary conviction by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least six months.

(3) In any case where the Court does not make an order under subsection (1), the Court shall order the person named or described in the warrant to be discharged.

(4) The Court shall have the same powers of adjournment and remand as if the person concerned were brought before the Court charged with an indictable offence.

(5) No appeal shall lie to the Circuit Court against an order of the Court under this section.

48. —(1) A person to whom an order under section 47 relates shall not, except with his consent given before a justice of the District Court or a peace commissioner, be delivered up under the order until the expiration of fifteen days from the date of the order.

(2) If within that period an application is made by him or on his behalf for an order of habeas corpus or for his release under section 50, he shall not be delivered up while the application is pending.

(3) The Court, on making an order under section 47, shall inform the person to whom it relates of his right to make such application and that he will not be delivered up during the said period of fifteen days, except with his consent, or while any such application is pending.

(4) An application made to the High Court shall be treated as pending until any appeal in the proceedings is disposed of, and an appeal shall be treated as disposed of at the expiration of the time for appeal if no appeal is brought.

49. —(1) A justice of the District Court, on the sworn information of a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector—

(a) that he has reason to believe that a warrant has been issued by a judicial authority in a place in relation to which this Part applies for the arrest of a person accused or convicted of an indictable offence under the law of that place, but that the warrant is not yet in his possession, and

(b) that he has received a request made on the ground of urgency by or on behalf of a police force of that place for the issue in the State of a warrant for the arrest of that person, and

(c) that he has reason to believe that that person may be found in the State,

may issue a warrant (in this section referred to as a provisional warrant) for the arrest of that person.

(2) Where the warrant issued in that place was for the arrest of a convicted person, a provisional warrant shall not be issued unless the member of the Garda Síochána states on oath that he has reason to believe that the requirements of subsection (3) of section 43 are satisfied.

(3) The person named or described in the provisional warrant shall on arrest be brought before a justice of the District Court for the district in which he was arrested, if a justice is immediately available.

(4) If not, he shall be brought as soon as may be before a peace commissioner in that district.

(5) If there is produced to the justice or peace commissioner the warrant issued for his arrest in a place in relation to which this Part applies, endorsed in accordance with section 43, the justice or peace commissioner shall proceed as if he had been arrested at that time under that warrant.

(6) In any other case, the justice or peace commissioner may remand him, either in custody or on bail, for not more than three days.

(7) Where at any time there is produced to the person having custody of a person remanded under this section the warrant issued in respect of that person in a place in relation to which this Part applies, endorsed in accordance with section 43, the period of remand shall end, and he shall thereafter be treated as if arrested at that time under that warrant.

If the warrant is not so produced during the period of remand the person remanded shall be released.

(8) A provisional warrant may be executed by any member of the Garda Síochána in any part of the State but shall not be authority for the making of an arrest more than five days after the date of its issue.

50. —(1) A person arrested under this Part shall be released if the High Court or the Minister so directs in accordance with this section.

(2) A direction under this section may be given by the High Court where the Court is of opinion that—

(a) the offence to which the warrant relates is—

(i) a political offence or an offence connected with a political offence, or

(ii) an offence under military law which is not an offence under ordinary criminal law, or

(iii) a revenue offence, or

(b) there are substantial reasons for believing that the person named or described in the warrant will, if removed from the State under this Part, be prosecuted or detained for a political offence or an offence connected with a political offence or an offence under military law which is not an offence under ordinary criminal law, or

(c) the offence specified in the warrant does not correspond with any offence under the law of the State which is an indictable offence or is punishable on summary conviction by imprisonment for a maximum period of at least six months.

(3) A direction of the Court under this section may be given either on application made by or on behalf of the person concerned or on the question being referred to the Court by the Minister.

(4) A direction under this section may be given by the Minister on any of the grounds set out in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2).

51. —(1) A warrant for the arrest of a person accused of an offence which under the law of the place concerned is a summary offence, whether or not it is also an indictable offence, shall not be endorsed under this Part unless—

(a) he has failed to appear in answer to a summons requiring his presence before a court in that place for the trial of the offence and, not less than fourteen days before the date named in the summons for his appearance, the summons was served on him personally in that place or a notice of the issue of the summons, together with a copy of the summons, was served on him personally by a member of the Garda Síochána, or

(b) having entered into a recognisance or bail bond for his appearance before a court in that place for the trial of the offence, he has failed to appear in pursuance of the recognisance or bail bond, or

(c) having appeared before a court in that place for the trial of the offence, he has subsequently failed to appear on any date to which proceedings were adjourned.

(2) (a) A notice under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be signed by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector.

(b) The notice shall be served by delivering to the accused a copy of the notice.

(c) A statutory declaration of service, endorsed upon the back of the original notice, shall be evidence of service.

(3) In this section, “trial” includes any proceedings in connection with the offence.

52. —(1) A person remanded in custody under this Part may be detained in a prison (or, if he is not more than twenty-one years of age, in a remand institution) or, for a period not exceeding forty-eight hours, in a Garda Síochána station.

(2) Where under subsection (1) of section 47 or subsection (6) of section 49 a justice of the District Court or a peace commissioner has power to remand a person on bail he may—

(a) take from him a recognisance, with or without sureties, conditioned as provided in subsection (3), or

(b) fix the amount of the recognisance with a view to its being taken later, and meanwhile commit him to the custody of the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of a Garda Síochána station.

(3) A recognisance taken from a person under this section shall be conditioned for his surrender to the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of a specified Garda Síochána station at the time mentioned in a notice in writing to be served on him by or on behalf of that member, but the time mentioned in a notice so served shall not be more than twenty-four hours before the time at which it appears to that member that the period of remand is likely to end.

(4) During the period between the surrender of a person as aforesaid and the end of the period of remand he shall be treated as if committed to the custody of the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of that station but where it appears to that member that the end of the period of remand will be unexpectedly delayed he shall release him on his entering into a recognisance, with or without sureties, conditioned as provided in subsection (3).

(5) If, in breach of a recognisance taken from a person under this section, a person fails to surrender as aforesaid, then, without prejudice to the enforcement of the recognisance, a justice of the District Court may issue a warrant for his arrest; and on his arrest under the warrant subsection (4) shall apply as if he had surrendered to the member of the Garda Síochána in charge of the Garda Síochána station specified in the recognisance, but that member shall not release him as provided by that subsection unless he is satisfied that it is proper to do so.

53. —(1) If the person in respect of whom an order has been made under section 47 is not delivered up under the order within one month after it was made the High Court, upon application by or on behalf of that person, may, unless reasonable cause is shown for the delay, order him to be discharged.

(2) If, in the case of a person in respect of whom an order has been made under section 47, it appears to a justice of the District Court for the district in which the order was made, that for any reason the police force of the place in which the warrant for arrest was issued no longer require the delivery of that person into their custody he shall order him to be discharged.

54. —(1) Where the Commissioner receives a document appearing to be a warrant issued by a judicial authority in a place in relation to which this Part applies, together with an affidavit verifying the signature on the warrant and appearing to be sworn before a person duly authorised to take affidavits by the law of that place, the Commissioner may, without further evidence, accept the document as being such warrant and as having been duly signed and issued by a judicial authority in accordance with the law of that place and as evidence that the offence for which the warrant is issued is an offence under the law of that place and that the affidavit has been duly sworn before a person so authorised as aforesaid.

(2) A certificate, appearing to be given by the authority or the clerk or other officer of the authority by which a warrant was issued, that the offence to which it relates is, by the law of the place concerned, an indictable offence and not also a summary offence, or that it is a summary offence punishable by a specified maximum period of imprisonment may, without further evidence, be accepted by the Commissioner as evidence of the matters so certified.

(3) A document appearing to be a copy of a summons to which paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 51 relates and to be certified by the authority by which it was issued or by the clerk or other officer of that authority, a document appearing to be a copy of an affidavit or other declaration of service of any such summons and an affidavit or other written statement purporting to have been sworn by the clerk or other officer of the court before which a person is required to appear, whether in answer to any such summons or in pursuance of a recognisance or on any date to which the proceedings for the trial of the offence have been adjourned, that that person has failed so to appear may, without further evidence, be accepted by the Commissioner as evidence of such summons, service and failure, respectively.

55. —(1) In any proceedings, unless the court sees good reason to the contrary—

(a) a document appearing to be a warrant issued by a judicial authority in a place in relation to which this Part applies for the arrest of a person for an offence may, if the signature on the warrant is verified as indicated in subsection (1) of section 54, be admitted in evidence as such warrant and as having been duly signed and issued by a judicial authority in accordance with the law of that place;

(b) a document appearing to be a copy of a summons to which paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 51 relates and to be certified in accordance with subsection (3) of section 54 may be admitted as evidence of such summons and a document appearing to be a copy of an affidavit or other declaration of service of the summons may be admitted as evidence of service;

(c) a certificate appearing to be given in accordance with subsection (2) of section 54 may be admitted as evidence of the matters certified therein,

without further evidence.

(2) In any proceedings, a warrant purporting to be endorsed by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been duly endorsed without proof of the signature of the person purporting to have endorsed it or that he is such Commissioner or that, before endorsing it, there was produced to him the affidavit referred to in subsection (1) of section 54.