Restrictions on imposing community sentencesN.I.
8.—(1) A court shall not pass on an offender a community sentence unless it is of the opinion that the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it, was serious enough to warrant such a sentence.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where a court passes a community sentence—
(a)the particular order or orders comprising or forming part of the sentence shall be such as in the opinion of the court is, or taken together are, the most suitable for the offender; and
(b)the restrictions on liberty imposed by the order or orders shall be such as in the opinion of the court are commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it.
(3) In consequence of the provision made by Article 15 with respect to combination orders, a community sentence shall not consist of or include both a probation order and a community service order.