Queen v Ivor Malachy Bell
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] NICA 52 |
| Date | 25 August 2021 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2021] NICA 52
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: TRE11516
ICOS No: 75/000025/A01
Delivered: 25/08/2021
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
THE QUEEN
v
IVOR MALACHY BELL
___________
Before: Treacy LJ, McCloskey LJ & Colton J
_________
Barry Macdonald QC with Joseph O’Keeffe BL (instructed by Phoenix Law, Solicitors) for
the Appellant
Gerald Simpson QC with Philip McAteer BL (instructed by the PPS) for the Respondent
___________
TREACY LJ (delivering the judgment of the court)
Introduction
[1] The appellant appeals against his conviction on 18 April 1975, on a single
count that on 26 July 1974 he assisted Gerard Adams, being a person detained under
a detention order, in attempting to escape from HMP Maze, contrary to paragraph
38(b) of Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973 (“the
1973 Act”). On the same date the appellant was sentenced to two years’
imprisonment.
[2] Fundamentally, this appeal is concerned with the impact on the appellant’s
conviction of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in R v Adams [2020] UKSC 19.
The appellant in the present case contends that it follows from the Adam’s decision
that his conviction is wrong in law on the basis that he could not commit the offence
under paragraph 38(b) where the person who was the subject of the attempt to
escape (Gerard Adams) was, as the Supreme Court found, not lawfully detained.
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2 cases
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Queen v Ivor Malachy Bell
...the appeal of the appellant and quashed his conviction for the offence of assisting Gerard Adams in attempting to escape from HMP Maze [2021] NICA 52. [2] Section 41 of the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978 provides as follows: “41. Appeals to Supreme Court in other criminal matters (1......
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Queen v Martin Thomas O'Rawe
...and Mr Bell were the two prisoners who were involved in the attempted escape with Mr Adams. [7] This court held in R v Ivor Bell [2021] NICA 52 that in light of the fact that Mr Adams was not in lawful custody at the time of the attempted escape, Ivor Bell could not be guilty of the offence......