[F14(1)A provision of an Act of the Assembly cannot—U.K.
(a)make modifications of, or confer power by subordinate legislation to make modifications of, an offence in a listed category;
(b)create, or confer power by subordinate legislation to create, an offence in a listed category.
(2)The listed categories of offences are—
(a)treason and related offences;
(b)homicide offences (including offences relating to suicide) and other offences against the person (including offences involving violence or threats of violence) that are triable only on indictment;
(c)sexual offences (including offences relating to indecent or pornographic images);
(d)offences of a kind dealt with by the Perjury Act 1911.
(3)A provision of an Act of the Assembly cannot make modifications of, or confer power by subordinate legislation to make modifications of, the law about—
(a)criminal responsibility and capacity,
(b)the meaning of intention, recklessness, dishonesty and other mental elements of offences,
(c)inchoate and secondary criminal liability, or
(d)sentences and other orders and disposals in respect of defendants in criminal proceedings, or otherwise in respect of criminal conduct, and their effect and operation.
(4)For the purposes of this paragraph, a modification of the law relating to defences to an offence is a modification of the offence.
(5)This paragraph does not affect the reservation, by virtue of Schedule 7A, of the creation or modification of offences in relation to reserved matters.
(See also paragraph 8 of that Schedule (single legal jurisdiction of England and Wales).)]
Textual Amendments
F1Schs. 7A, 7B substituted for Sch. 7 (1.4.2018) by Wales Act 2017 (c. 4), s. 71(3), Sch. 2 (with Sch. 7 paras. 1, 2, 6); S.I. 2017/1179, reg. 2