Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980

[F1 47A Appeals in cases of death. U.K.

(1) Where a person has died—

(a) any relevant appeal which might have been begun by him had he remained alive may be begun by a person approved by the Court of Appeal; and

(b) where any relevant appeal was begun by him while he was alive or is begun in relation to his case by virtue of paragraph (a) above or by a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, any further step which might have been taken by him in connection with the appeal if he were alive may be taken by a person so approved.

(2) In this section “relevant appeal” means—

(a) an appeal under section 1, 8, 9, 12 or 13A of this Act; or

(b) an appeal under section 31 of this Act from any decision of the Court of Appeal on an appeal under any of those sections.

(3) Approval for the purposes of this section may only be given to—

(a) the widow or widower of the dead person;

(b) a person who is the personal representative (within the meaning of the Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994) of the dead person; or

(c) any other person appearing to the Court of Appeal to have, by reason of a family or similar relationship with the dead person, a substantial financial or other interest in the determination of a relevant appeal relating to him.

(4) Except in the case of an appeal begun by a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an application for such approval may not be made after the end of the period of one year beginning with the date of death.

(5) Where this section applies, any reference in this Act to the appellant shall, where appropriate, be construed as being or including a reference to the person approved under this section.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 47A added (31.3.1997 to the extent that s. 47A relates to references by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and 1.1.1996 otherwise) by 1995 c. 35, s. 7(2);S.I. 1995/3061, art. 3(b); S.I. 1997/402, art. 3(b)