The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Michael McDowell, T.D., today announced that the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act, 2006 has been signed into law by the President following its passage through both houses of the Oireachtas. The Minister will make the necessary Commencement Order shortly which will bring the provisions of the Act into force with effect from 1 June, 2006. This will allow all those with an interest in this area of the law, professional and otherwise, to become familiar with this important new statute.

Making the announcement the Minister said "This is a most significant and historic piece of legislation.  The Act will move our law, practice and administration and its outmoded concepts in this whole area from its dark origins in the 19th century and before, right up to the more enlightened and progressive ethos of the present day.

The Act arises mainly from the recommendations contained in the Third Interim Report of the Committee on Mentally Ill and Maladjusted Persons - otherwise known as the Henchy Committee Report (1978).

I am very pleased to have been associated with this measure and to have seen it through to finality, particularly in the light of passage of time since the Report was first published. I want to place on the record my thanks and appreciation to Judge Henchy and his Committee for their seminal work which in many respects is just as relevant today as it was when it was first written".

The Minister went on to say that generally speaking, in the sphere of the criminal law, the defence of insanity and the related question of a person's fitness to plead, illustrate very clearly the evolution of the criminal law in its social protection role.  The Act now contains clear statutory rules in both of these areas which draw on the position at common law in this jurisdiction developed over many years. In many respects it provides a modern, balanced and complementary approach as between the overlapping roles and responsibilities of the criminal justice system on the one hand and medical and psychological sciences on the other, in cases where, due to mental disorder the requisite intent may not have been formed, or the capacity to understand the criminal justice process may not be present.

The new Act introduces the concept of diminished responsibility into Irish law. It is only being applied in the case of murder - which carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. There is no need to apply the concept to other crimes which do not carry mandatory sentences, because the court can already take into account the mental condition of the convicted person when considering a sentence of imprisonment.

The provisions in the Act which allow courts to refer persons with mental illness for appropriate care or treatment in designated psychiatric centres on an in-patient or out-patient basis as appropriate, rather than to prison, have been widely welcomed. In the interest of greater human rights protection in line with international instruments, the Minister agreed to remove from the new Act the provision which allowed a prison or any part of a prison to be designated as such a centre in which a person suffering from mental illness could be detained.

In line with the provisions of the Convention on Human Rights which has been given further effect in our law since the end of 2003, a new independent Mental Health (Criminal Law) Review Board will be established. The main function of the Board will be the regular review of all cases of detention in designated centres of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to be tried, including persons detained under military law. In addition, the Board will also be responsible for the cases of those persons who have been convicted of crimes, but who subsequently become mentally ill while serving their sentences in prison. The Board will have the power to discharge persons under its charge unconditionally or subject to conditions as it sees fit having regard to all the circumstances involved, including medical evidence.

On a practical level, the Act also provides for new administrative procedures governing the transfer of prisoners who are mentally ill as between prisons and designated centres for appropriate care or treatment, certain amendments to the Infanticide Act, 1949 to remove pejorative words and terms, and other technical legal provisions which will go a long way towards improving and modernising, in a most humane way, this complex and so often tragic area of the criminal law.

19 April, 2006