The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994

Power to deprive offenders of property used, or intended for use, for purposes of crime N.I.

11.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, where a person is convicted of an offence and—

(a) the court by or before which he is convicted is satisfied that any property which has been lawfully seized from him or which was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence or when a summons in respect of it was issued—

(i) has been used for the purpose of committing, or facilitating the commission of, any offence; or

(ii) was intended by him to be used for that purpose; or

(b) the offence, or an offence which the court has taken into consideration in determining his sentence, consists of unlawful possession of property which—

(i) has been lawfully seized from him; or

(ii) was in his possession or under his control at the time when he was apprehended for the offence of which he has been convicted or when a summons in respect of that offence was issued,

the court may make an order under this Article in respect of that property, and may do so whether or not it also deals with the offender in respect of the offence in any other way and without regard to any restrictions on forfeiture in a relevant provision.

(2) In considering whether to make such an order in respect of any property a court shall have regard—

(a) to the value of the property; and

(b) to the likely financial and other effects on the offender of the making of the order (taken together with any other order that the court contemplates making).

(3) Where a person commits an offence to which this paragraph applies by—

(a) driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a vehicle, or

(b) failing to comply with a requirement made under[F1 Article 18 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995] (failure to provide specimen for analysis or laboratory test) in the course of an investigation into whether the offender had committed an offence while driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a vehicle, or

(c) failing, as the driver of a vehicle, to comply with Article 175(1) of that Order (duty to stop and give information or report accident),

the vehicle shall be regarded for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) (and paragraph (7)(b)) as used for the purpose of committing the offence (and for the purpose of committing any offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence).

(4) Paragraph (3) applies to—

(a) an offence under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland)[F1 Orders 1981 and 1995] which is punishable with imprisonment,

(b) an offence of manslaughter, and

(c) an offence under section 35 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861F2 (wanton and furious driving).

(5) Facilitating the commission of an offence shall be taken for the purposes of this Article to include the taking of any steps after it has been committed for the purpose of disposing of any property to which it relates or of avoiding apprehension or detection, and references in this Article to an offence punishable with imprisonment shall be construed without regard to any prohibition or restriction imposed by or under any statutory provision on the imprisonment of young offenders.

(6) An order under this Article shall operate to deprive the offender of his rights, if any, in the property to which it relates, and the property shall (if not already in their possession) be taken into the possession of the police.

Paras. (7)‐(8B) rep. by 1998 c. 32

(9) In this Article “relevant provision” means a provision contained in an Act or Order mentioned in the definition of “relevant provision” in Article 2(2) being such an Act or Order passed or made before this Order is made.

F1 1995 NI 18

F2 1861 c. 100

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Art. 11 excluded (8.2.2007) by Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 (c. 36), ss. 103, 126(2), Sch. 5 para. 7(c)

C2 Art. 11 excluded by Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/2778 (N.I. 19)), art. 5D(9) (as inserted (25.6.2007) by Waste (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/611 (N.I. 3)), arts. 1(3), 8(1) (with art. 8(2)); S.R. 2007/294, art. 2, Sch.)