Criminal Damage Act, 1991

Compensation order.

9.—(1) On conviction of any person of an offence under section 2 of damaging property belonging to another, the court, instead of or in addition to dealing with him in any other way, may, on application or otherwise, make an order (in this Act referred to as a “compensation order”) requiring him to pay compensation in respect of that damage to any person (in this section referred to as the “injured party”) who, by reason thereof, has suffered loss (other than consequential loss).

(2) The compensation payable under a compensation order (including a compensation order made against a parent or guardian of the convicted person and notwithstanding, in such a case, any other statutory limitation as to amount) shall be of such amount (not exceeding £5,000 in the case of such an order made by the District Court or such other amount as may stand prescribed for the time being by law as the limit of that Court's jurisdiction in tort) as the court considers appropriate, having regard to any evidence and to any representations that are made by or on behalf of the convicted person or the prosecutor, and shall not exceed the amount of the damages that, in the opinion of the court, the injured party concerned would be entitled to recover in a civil action against the convicted person in respect of the damage concerned.

(3) A compensation order shall not be made unless both the injured party concerned and the approximate cost of making good the damage to it (or, where appropriate, of replacing it) are readily ascertainable at the time of the conviction concerned or within a reasonable period thereafter.

(4) In determining whether to make a compensation order against a person, and in determining the amount to be paid by a person under such an order, the court shall have regard—

(a) to his means, or

(b) in a case to which section 99 of the Children Act, 1908 (which empowers a court to require a parent or guardian to pay any fine, damages or costs imposed on a child or young person), applies, the means of the parent or guardian,

so far as they appear or are known to the court.

(5) A compensation order may provide for payment of the compensation by such instalments and at such times as the court shall in all the circumstances consider reasonable.

(6) Where the court considers—

(a) that it would be appropriate both to impose a fine and to make a compensation order, but

(b) that the convicted person has insufficient means to pay both an appropriate fine and appropriate compensation,

the court may, if it is satisfied that the means are sufficient to justify its doing so, make a compensation order and, if it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so having regard to the means that would remain after compliance with the order, impose a fine.

(7) At any time after a compensation order has ceased to be suspended by virtue of section 10 (1) and before it has been complied with or fully complied with, the District Court may—

(a) on the application of the convicted person concerned—

(i) reduce the amount to be paid, vary any instalment payable, or direct that no payments or further payments be made, under the order if it appears to the Court—

(I) that the means of the convicted person are insufficient to satisfy the order in full, or

(II) on being satisfied that the injured party concerned has been given an opportunity of making representations to the court on the issue and having regard to any such representations that are made by him or on his behalf, that the damage in respect of which the order was made is less than it was taken to be for the purposes of the order, and

(ii) if any amount paid under the order exceeds the amount appearing to the Court to be reasonable compensation for the damage, order that the amount of the excess be repaid by the injured party to the convicted person, and, upon the making of such order, the compensation order shall cease to have effect,

or

(b) on the application of the injured party concerned, increase the amount to be paid, the amount of any instalment or the number of instalments payable, under the order if it appears to the Court—

(i) that the means of the convicted person are sufficient for the relevant purposes aforesaid, or

(ii) on being satisfied that the convicted person concerned has been given an opportunity of making representations to the court on the issue and having regard to any such representations that are made by him or on his behalf, that the damage in respect of which the order was made is more than it was taken to be for the purposes of the order.

(8) A compensation order and an order under subsection (7) (b) shall be treated for the purposes of enforcement as if they were orders made by the court concerned in civil proceedings and, without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (7), a compensation order shall be treated for those purposes as if it were an instalment order within the meaning of Part I of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1940 .

(9) The references to damages in the aforesaid section 99 shall be construed as if they included references to compensation under a compensation order and subsections (5) and (6) of that section shall not apply in relation to a compensation order.

(10) This section is without prejudice to any other enactment which provides for the payment of compensation by a person convicted of an offence of damaging property or otherwise proved to have committed such an offence.

(11) The making of a compensation order against a parent or guardian of a convicted person shall not of itself give rise to any other liability on the part of the parent or guardian in respect of the damage concerned.

(12) In this section—

(a) references to conviction of a person include references to dealing with a person under section 1 (1) of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1907 , and

(b) the third reference in subsection (1), the first reference in subsection (2) and the references in subsections (6) (b) and (7) to a convicted person, however expressed, include, in cases to which the aforesaid section 99 applies, references to his parent or guardian.