Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978

7 Mode 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 it 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 separate counts of an indictment allege a scheduled offence and an offence which is not a scheduled offence, the trial on indictment shall, without prejudice to section 5 of the [1945 c. 16 (N.I.).] Indictments Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 (orders for amendment of indictment, separate trial and postponement of trial), be conducted as if all the offences alleged in the indictment were scheduled offences.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (2) above, where the court trying a scheduled offence on indictment—

(a) is not satisfied that the accused is guilty of that offence, but

(b) is 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 convicts the accused of that or some other offence, then, without prejudice to its power apart from this subsection to give a judgment, it shall, at the time of conviction or as soon as practicable thereafter, give a judgment 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 that leave, unless the sentence is one fixed by law.

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