Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980

12 Appeal against finding of not guilty on ground of insanity. U.K.

(1) A person in whose case a finding is recorded under [F1 Article 50(1) of the Mental Health Order] that he was not guilty of the offence charged on the ground of insanity may appeal against that finding to the Court of Appeal—

(a) on any ground of appeal which involves a question of law alone; and

(b) with the leave of the Court, on any ground of appeal which involves a question of fact alone or a question of mixed law and fact, or any other ground which appears to the Court to be a sufficient ground of appeal;

but if the judge of the court of trial grants a certificate that the case is fit for appeal on a ground which involves a question of fact, or of mixed law and fact, an appeal lies under this section without the leave of the Court.

(2) The Court, on an appeal under this section, shall (subject to subsections (3) and (4) below) allow the appeal where the Court is of opinion—

(a) that the finding should be set aside on the ground that under all the circumstances of the case it is unsafe or unsatisfactory; or

(b) that any order made by the court of trial upon, or giving effect to, the finding should be set aside on the ground of a wrong decison of any question of law; or

(c) that there was a material irregularity in the course of the trial,

and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal.

(3) The Court may dismiss an appeal under this section if of opinion that, notwithstanding that the point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, no miscarriage of justice has actually occurred.

(4) Where but for this subsection—

(a) an appeal under this section would fall to be allowed; and

(b) none of the grounds for allowing it relates to the question of the insanity of the appellant,

the Court may dismiss the appeal if of opinion that but for the insanity of the accused the proper verdict would have been that he was guilty of an offence other than the offence charged.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by S.I. 1986/595 (N.I. 4), arts. 52(6), 136(1), Sch. 5 Pt. I