Committal
Section 218: Committal by magistrates’ court
272.Section 218 is to be read in conjunction with section 156(2)(b). Its effect is that a person may be committed to the Crown Court for confiscation following a conviction of any offence, indictable or summary, in the magistrates’ court. Where the prosecutor asks the magistrates’ court to do so, the court must commit the defendant to the Crown Court for confiscation. The power to have a person committed for confiscation is granted only to the prosecutor, not to the Director. In practice, the prosecutor and the Director may consult in such cases, and the Director may assume responsibility for the subsequent confiscation proceedings in the Crown Court.
273.There is one distinct difference between this section and its equivalent section for England and Wales, section 70. It relates to the existing power of a magistrates’ court in England and Wales to commit a defendant who is convicted of an offence which is triable either way to the Crown Court for sentence. There is no comparable power in Northern Ireland.
Section 219: sentencing by Crown Court
274.Section 219 provides that, where a person is committed to the Crown Court for confiscation, the Crown Court will also assume responsibility for the sentencing process. The principle applied is the same as proposed for England and Wales. However, in light of the notes above for section 218, the Crown Court is restricted to the sentencing powers available to the magistrates’ court when dealing with a defendant committed for a confiscation hearing from that court.
