- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As made)
The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, Section 29 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 10 September 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Order (including any effects on those provisions):
29.—(1) Before fixing the amount of any fine to be imposed on an offender who is an individual, a court shall inquire into his financial circumstances.
(2) The amount of any fine fixed by a court shall be such as, in the opinion of the court, reflects the seriousness of the offence.
(3) In fixing the amount of any fine to be imposed on an offender (whether an individual or other person), a court shall take into account the circumstances of the case including, among other things, the financial circumstances of the offender so far as they are known, or appear, to the court.
[F1(3A) In applying paragraph (3), a court must not reduce the amount of a fine on account of any offender levy it orders the offender to pay under section 1 of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, except to the extent that the offender has insufficient means to pay both.]
(4) Where—
(a)an offender has been convicted in his absence in pursuance of Article 23 or 24 of the [1981 N1 26.] Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (non-appearance of accused), or
(b)an offender—
(i)has failed to comply with an order under Article 30(1); or
(ii)has otherwise failed to co-operate with the court in its inquiry into his financial circumstances,
[F2or
(c)the parent or guardian of an offender who is under the age of[F3 18] years—
(i)has failed to comply with an order under Article 30(2A); or
(ii)has otherwise failed to co-operate with the court in its inquiry into his financial circumstances,]
and the court considers that it has insufficient information to make a proper determination of the financial circumstances of the offender, it may make such determination as it thinks fit.
(5) Paragraph (3) applies whether taking into account the financial circumstances of the offender has the effect of increasing or reducing the amount of the fine.
[F2(5A) For the purposes of any order under Article 35 of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 against a parent or guardian of an officer (parent of guardian to pay fine, etc. , instead of child)—
(a)this Article and Article 32 shall have effect (so far as applicable) as if any reference to the financial circumstances of the offender were a reference to the financial circumstances of the parent or guardian; but
(b)for the purposes of any such order made against the appropriate authority (within the meaning of that Order) paragraph (1) shall not apply.]
(6) The amendments made by Schedule 3 shall have effect.
F1Art. 29(3A) inserted (6.6.2012) by Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (c. 24), ss. 1(9), 111(3) (with s. 106(4), Sch. 6 para. 1); S.R. 2012/214, art. 2(c)
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.