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PART IN.I.PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO SENTENCES ON AND DETENTION OF YOUNG OFFENDERS

N.I.Restrictions on imprisonment

1Restrictions on imprisonment.N.I.

(1)Subject to subsections (2) and (3), and without prejudice to any other enactment prohibiting or restricting the imprisonment of persons of or below a specified age, a court shall not pass a sentence of imprisonment on, or commit to prison for any default, a person who has not attained twenty-one years of age.

(2)Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the power of a court to pass a sentence of imprisonment (where the court has power to pass such a sentence) for a term of[F1 more than four years].

(3)Subsection (1) shall not apply in the case of a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment at the time when the court passes sentence …F2.

(4)Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the power of the Minister of Home AffairsF3 (in this Act referred to as “the Minister” ) to commute to a term of imprisonment—

Para. (a) rep. by 1980 NI 10

(b)a term of detention in a young offenders centre under section 7(1)( b) of this Act.

F3Functions transf., SI 1973/2163