Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980

The appealU.K.

31 Right of appeal to House of Lords.U.K.

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, an appeal lies to the House of Lords, at the instance of the defendant or the prosecutor, from any decision of the Court of Appeal on an appeal to that Court under Part I of this Act [F1or Article 8 (preparatory hearings) of the Criminal Justice (Serious Fraud) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988].

(2)No appeal lies under this Part of this Act except with the leave of the Court or of the House of Lords; and such leave shall not be granted unless it is certified by the Court that a point of law of general public importance is involved in the decision and it appears to the Court or to the House of Lords (as the case may be) that the point is one which ought to be considered by that House.

(3)In this Part of this Act “the defendant” means, in relation to an appeal, the person who was the appellant before the Court, and references to the prosecutor shall be construed accordingly.

32 Application for leave to appeal.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, an application to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal under this Part of this Act shall be made within the period of fourteen days beginning with the date of the decision of the Court; and an application to the House of Lords for such leave shall be made within the period of fourteen days beginning with the date on which the application is refused by the Court.

(2)The House of Lords or the Court may, upon application made at any time by the defendant, extend the time within which an application may be made by him to that House or the Court under subsection (1) above.

(3)An appeal under this Part of this Act shall be treated as pending until any application for leave to appeal is disposed of and, if leave to appeal is granted, until the appeal is disposed of; and for the purposes of this Part of this Act an application for leave to appeal shall be treated as disposed of at the expiration of the time within which it may be made, if it is not made within that time.

33 Hearing and disposal of appeal.U.K.

(1)An appeal under this Part of this Act shall not be heard and determined by the House of Lords unless there are present at least three of the persons designated Lords of Appeal by section 5 of the M1Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876.

(2)Any order of the House of Lords which provides for the hearing of applications for leave to appeal under this Part of this Act by a committee constituted in accordance with section 5 of the said Act of 1876 may direct that the decision of that committee shall be taken on behalf of the House.

(3)For the purpose of disposing of an appeal under this Part of this Act, the House of Lords may exercise any powers of the Court or may remit the case to the Court.