The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Provisions supplementary to Article 72

73.—(1) Where evidence that a person has been convicted of an offence is admissible by virtue of Article 72, then without prejudice to the reception of any other admissible evidence for the purpose of identifying the facts on which the conviction was based—

(a) the contents of any document which is admissible as evidence of the conviction; and

(b) the contents of the complaint, information, indictment or charge-sheet on which the person in question was convicted,

shall be admissible in evidence for that purpose.

(2) Where in any criminal proceedings the contents of any document are admissible in evidence by virtue of paragraph (1), a copy of that document, or of the material part of it, purporting to be certified or otherwise authenticated by or on behalf of the court or authority having custody of that document shall be admissible in evidence and shall be taken to be a true copy of that document or part unless the contrary is shown.

(3) Nothing in any of the following—

(a) section 8 of the Probation Act (Northern Ireland) 1950(1) (under which a conviction leading to probation or discharge is to be disregarded except as mentioned in that section);

(b) section 13 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973(2) (which makes provision similar to section 8 of that Act of 1950); and

(c) section 392 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975(3) (which makes similar provision in respect of convictions on indictment in Scotland);

shall affect the operation of Article 72; and for the purposes of that Article any order made by a court of summary jurisdiction in Scotland under section 182 or 183 of the said Act of 1975 shall be treated as a conviction.

(4) Nothing in Article 72 shall be construed as rendering admissible in any criminal proceedings evidence of any conviction other than a subsisting one.

(1)

1955 c. 19

(2)

1957 c. 53

(3)

1950 c. 7 (N.I.)