Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973

2Mode of trial on indictment of scheduled offences

(1)A trial on indictment of a scheduled offence shall be conducted by the court without a jury.

(2)The court trying a scheduled offence on indictment under this section shall have all the powers, authorities and jurisdiction which the court would have had if they had been sitting with a jury, including power to determine any question and to make any finding which would, apart from this section, be required to be determined or made by a jury, and references in any enactment to a jury or the verdict or finding of a jury shall be construed accordingly in relation to a trial under this section.

(3)Where an indictment contains a count alleging a scheduled offence and another count alleging an offence which at the time the indictment is presented is not a scheduled offence, the other count shall be disregarded.

(4)Without prejudice to subsection (2) above, where the court trying a scheduled offence on indictment are not satisfied that the accused is guilty of that offence, but are satisfied that he is guilty of some other offence which is not a scheduled offence, but of which a jury could have found him guilty on a trial for the scheduled offence, the court may convict him of that other offence.

(5)Where the court trying a scheduled offence convict the accused of that or some other offence, then, without prejudice to their power apart from this subsection to give a judgment, they shall, at the time of conviction or as soon as practicable thereafter, give a judgement stating the reasons for the conviction.

(6)A person convicted of any offence on a trial under this section without a jury may, notwithstanding anything in section 8 of the [1968 c. 21.] Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1968, appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal under that section—

(a)against his conviction, on any ground, without the leave of the Court of Criminal Appeal or a certificate of the judge of the court of trial; and

(b)against sentence passed on conviction, without such leave, unless the sentence is one fixed by law.

(7)Where a person is so convicted, the time for giving notice of appeal under section 20(1) of the said Act of 1968 shall run from the date of judgement, if later than the date from which it would run under that subsection.