11.—(1) A person guilty by virtue of Article 9 of conspiracy to commit any offence or offences shall be liable on conviction on indictment—
(a)in a case falling within paragraph (2) or (3), to imprisonment for a term related in accordance with that paragraph to the gravity of the offence or offences in question (referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) as the relevant offence or offences); and
(b)in any other case, to a fine.
Sub-paragraph (b) shall not be taken as prejudicing the application of section 7 (3) of the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (general power of court to fine offender convicted on indictment) in a case falling within paragraph (2) or (3).
(2) Where the relevant offence or any of the relevant offences is an offence of any of the following descriptions, that is to say—
(a)murder, or any other offence the sentence for which is fixed by law;
(b)an offence for which a sentence extending to imprisonment for life is provided; or
(c)an indictable offence punishable with imprisonment for which no maximum term of imprisonment is provided.
the person convicted shall be liable to imprisonment for life.
(3) Where in a case other than one to which paragraph (2) applies the relevant offence or any of the relevant offences is punishable with imprisonment, the person convicted shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the maximum term provided for that offence or (where more than one such offence is in question) for any one of those offences (taking the longer or the longest term as the limit for the purposes of this Article where the terms provided differ).
In the case of an offence punishable either on conviction on indictment or on summary conviction, the references above in this paragraph to the maximum term provided for that offence are references to the maximum term so provided on conviction on indictment.
(4) A person guilty by virtue of Article 9 of conspiracy to commit any offence or offences punishable on summary conviction (whether or not also punishable on conviction on indictment) shall be liable on summary conviction to any penalty to which he would have been liable on summary conviction of that offence or (where more than one offence is in question) for any one of those offences (taking the greater or the greatest penalty as the limit for the purposes of this Article where the penalties provided differ).