Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006

Review of prisoner’s detention in designated centre.

17.— (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice to do so, the Minister may direct the Review Board to review the detention of a prisoner in a designated centre in any case where the detention arises pursuant to a certification referred to in section 15 (2) or (5)(a).

(2) The Review Board shall ensure that the detention of a prisoner in a designated centre pursuant to section 15 is reviewed at intervals of such length not being more than 6 months as it considers appropriate and the clinical director of the centre shall comply with any request by the Review Board in connection with the review.

(3) A prisoner detained in a designated centre pursuant to section 15 may apply to the Review Board for a review of his or her detention and the Review Board shall, unless satisfied that the review is, in all the circumstances of the case, not necessary, conduct the review and—

(a) if satisfied that the prisoner is suffering from or continues to suffer from a mental disorder for which he or she cannot be afforded appropriate treatment within the prison from which the prisoner was transferred to the centre, refuse to make an order referred to in paragraph (b),

(b) in any other case, after consultation with the Minister—

(i) order the prisoner to be transferred back to the prison from which he or she was transferred to the centre, or

(ii) order the prisoner to be transferred to such other prison as the Minister considers appropriate in all the circumstances of the case.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Review Board may on its own initiative review the detention of a prisoner in a designated centre pursuant to section 15 , and subsection (3) shall apply to such review as if the prisoner had applied for the review under that subsection.

(5) This section shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to a prisoner detained in a relevant place before the commencement of this section as it applies to a prisoner detained in a designated centre on or after that commencement.

(6) In subsection (5), “relevant place” means any place which, on or after the commencement of this section, is a designated centre.