Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1998 c. 35 |
(1) The Secretary of State shall appoint Sentence Review Commissioners.at least one of the Commissioners is a lawyer, andat least one is a psychiatrist or a psychologist.(3) In making appointments the Secretary of State shall have regard to the desirability of the Commissioners, as a group, commanding widespread acceptance throughout the community in Northern Ireland.(4) Schedule 1 (which makes further provision about the Commissioners) shall have effect.(5) In subsection (2) (a) “lawyer” means a person who holds a legal qualification in the United Kingdom.Schedule 2 (which makes provision about the procedure to be followed in relation to the Commissioners’ functions) shall have effect. (1) A prisoner may apply to Commissioners for a declaration that he is eligible for release in accordance with the provisions of this Act.the prisoner is serving a sentence of imprisonment for a fixed term in Northern Ireland and the first three of the following four conditions are satisfied, orthe prisoner is serving a sentence of imprisonment for life in Northern Ireland and the following four conditions are satisfied.was passed in Northern Ireland for a qualifying offence, andis one of imprisonment for life or for a term of at least five years.(4) The second condition is that the prisoner is not a supporter of a specified organisation.to become a supporter of a specified organisation, orto become concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland.(6) The fourth condition is that, if the prisoner were released immediately, he would not be a danger to the public.was committed before 10th April 1998,was when committed a scheduled offence within the meaning of the was not the subject of a certificate of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland that it was not to be treated as a scheduled offence in the case concerned.is concerned in terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland, or in promoting or encouraging it, andhas not established or is not maintaining a complete and unequivocal ceasefire.is committed to the use now and in the future of only democratic and peaceful means to achieve its objectives;has ceased to be involved in any acts of violence or of preparation for violence;is directing or promoting acts of violence by other organisations;is co-operating fully with any Commission of the kind referred to in section 7 of the that paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection does not apply to a specified organisation, orthat paragraphs (a) and (b) apply to an organisation which is not specified,one third of his sentence, plusone day for every day of remission which he has lost, and not had restored, in accordance with prison rules.(2) If the day arrived at under subsection (1) falls on or before the day of the declaration, the prisoner’s right to be released under that subsection is a right to be released by the end of the day after the day of the declaration.Saturday,Sunday,Christmas Day,Good Friday, anda public holiday in Northern Ireland.(4) If a prisoner is released on licence under this section his sentence shall expire (and the licence shall lapse) at the time when he could have been discharged on the ground of good conduct under prison rules.(1) If the length of a sentence is treated as reduced by a period of custody in accordance with section 26 of the (2) If a sentence of at least five years is supplemented by a period of imprisonment in accordance with F1section 80(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000 (conviction of scheduled offence during period of remission) for the purposes of section 4(1) above the supplementary period must be treated as part of the sentence.a sentence of less than five years is supplemented by a period of imprisonment in accordance with F2section 80(2) of the 2000 Act, andthe supplementary period relates to an earlier sentence of at least five years for a qualifying offence (within the meaning of section 3 above) ,
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