Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001

Effect of Act and transitional provisions.

65.—(1) This Act, save as otherwise provided by it, shall, as regards offences under any of its provisions, have effect only in relation to offences wholly or partly committed on or after the commencement of any such provision.

(2) No repeal or amendment by this Act of any enactment relating to procedure or evidence or to the jurisdiction or powers of any court or to the effect of a conviction shall affect the operation of the enactment in relation to offences committed before the commencement of this Act or to proceedings for any such offence.

(3) If—

(a) a person is charged in the alternative with having committed an offence under a statute or rule of law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act and an offence under this Act, and

(b) it is proved that the person did acts which would constitute either of the offences charged, but it is not proved whether those acts were done before or after such commencement,

the person may be convicted of the first-mentioned offence but shall not be liable to a penalty greater than the lesser of the maximum penalties provided for the two offences with which the person was charged.

(4) Except as regards offences committed before the commencement of this Act and except where the context otherwise requires—

(a) references in any enactment passed before this Act to an offence abolished by this Act shall, subject to any express amendment or repeal made by this Act, have effect as references to the corresponding offence under this Act, and

(b) without prejudice to paragraph (a), references, however expressed, in any enactment, whenever passed, to theft or stealing (including references to stolen goods) or related offences, and references to robbery, burglary, aggravated burglary, receiving or handling stolen property, forgery or counterfeiting shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and any such enactment shall have effect accordingly, with any necessary modifications.

(5) (a) The repeal by section 3 (1) of sections 23 (robbery), 23A (burglary) and 23B (aggravated burglary) of the Larceny Act, 1916 , shall not affect the operation of those sections for the purposes of section 2 of, and paragraph 9 of the Schedule to, the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976 , and accordingly that section and that paragraph shall have effect as if section 3 (1) had not been enacted.

(b) References in paragraph (a) to sections 23, 23A and 23B of the Larceny Act, 1916 , are to those sections as substituted, or as the case may be inserted, by sections 5 to 7 of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976 .

(6) On the commencement of this subsection—

(a) subsection (5) shall cease to have effect,

(b) sections 5 to 7 of the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976 , shall be repealed, and

(c) the following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph 9 of the Schedule to the Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act, 1976 :

Robbery and burglary

9. Any offence under the following provisions of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001:

(a) section 13 (aggravated burglary);

(b) section 14 (robbery).”.