Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009

PART 2

Organised Crime

Amendment of section 70 of Act of 2006 - definition of “criminal organisation”, etc.

3.— (1) Section 70(1) of the Act of 2006 is amended—

(a) by substituting the following for the definition of “criminal organisation”:

“‘ criminal organisation ’ means a structured group, however organised, that has as its main purpose or activity the commission or facilitation of a serious offence;”,

and

(b) by substituting the following for the definition of “structured group”:

“ ‘ structured group ’ means a group of 3 or more persons, which is not randomly formed for the immediate commission of a single offence, and the involvement in which by 2 or more of those persons is with a view to their acting in concert; for the avoidance of doubt, a structured group may exist notwithstanding the absence of all or any of the following:

(a) formal rules or formal membership, or any formal roles for those involved in the group;

(b) any hierarchical or leadership structure;

(c) continuity of involvement by persons in the group.”.

(2) Section 70 of the Act of 2006 is further amended by adding the following subsection:

“(3) For the purposes of the references in sections 71(2)(d) and 74(1)(b)(i) to a person’s being ordinarily resident in the State, a person shall be taken to be so resident, on the date of the commission of the offence to which section 71(1) or 74(1), as the case may be, applies, if, for the 12 months immediately preceding that date, the person has his or her principal place of residence in the State.”.