Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023

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Amendment of Parole Act 2019

81. The Parole Act 2019 is amended—

(a) in section 2—

(i) in subsection (1), in the definition of “relevant governor”—

(I) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “so released,” for “so released, or”, and

(II) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) where the parole applicant or parolee, as the case may be, is on conditional release from prison in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960, the governor of the prison from which he or she is so released, or”,

and

(ii) in subsection (3)—

(I) in paragraph (a)—

(A) by the substitution of “including” for “including both”,

(B) in subparagraph (i), by the substitution of “Act of 2001,” for “Act of 2001, and”,

(C) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “Act of 1960, and” for “Act of 1960,” and

(D) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) a person who is released from prison on conditional release in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960,”,

and

(II) in paragraph (b)—

(A) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “imprisonment,” for “imprisonment, and”,

(B) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “that Act, and” for “that Act,” and

(C) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) any time spent on conditional release from prison for a period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960 while serving the sentence of imprisonment other than time spent on such release where the currency of the sentence of the person is suspended pursuant to section 5 of that Act,”,

(b) in section 6, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) the power of the Minister to give a direction that a person be released from prison for a period under section 2A of the Act of 1960,”,

and

(c) in section 27—

(i) in subsection (2)—

(I) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) without prejudice to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) to (m), in the case of a foreign sentence—

(i) any restriction, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, for the whole term of the sentence regarding the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole),

(ii) any condition, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, that means the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole) was conditional on his or her having served a specified term of imprisonment where the condition was as a result of—

(I) a decision or order by the court or tribunal that imposed the sentence,

(II) the operation of law of the state in which the sentence was imposed, or

(III) a decision of a body in the state in which the sentence was imposed, other than a body referred to in clause (I), on whom a power to make such a decision has been conferred by law,”,

and

(II) in paragraph (e)(iii), by the insertion of “or 2A” after “section 2”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a reference in that subsection to any recommendation of the court that imposed the sentence shall, in the case of a foreign sentence, be construed as a reference to any recommendation of the court or tribunal in the state that imposed the sentence.

(5) In this section, ‘foreign sentence’, means—

(a) a sentence of imprisonment for life, or

(b) a sentence of imprisonment of a term equivalent to or longer than such term as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Minister under section 24(3),

that is imposed by a court or tribunal in a state, other than the State, the enforcement of which has been transferred to the State and thereafter continued in accordance with a committal order within the meaning of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995 , the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005 or Part 3 of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023, as the case may be.”.