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CHAPTER 6
THE SUSPENDED SENTENCE IN IRELAND
INTRODUCTION
Unlike the development of the suspended sentence in other jurisdictions where the
sanction developed in a statutory format and is thus subject to statutory interpretation, the
suspended sentence in Ireland developed as a common law sentencing procedure only.
The sanction was wholly defined and obtained its meaning from practices and
interpretations of the Judges who used the sanction. In the previous chapter, the historical
development of the suspended sentence was discussed in conjunction with an analysis of
the rationale of the sentence. In this chapter, the distinctly Irish form of the sanction will
be discussed in detail to demonstrate how a sentence, which developed solely within a
judicial construction, has been used to meet changing exigencies that present to the Irish
sentencing courts. In response to such exigencies, the courts developed variations of the
suspended sentence and even the part suspended sentence so that over time four distinct
variations of the suspended sentence emerged. The statutorysuspended sentence enacted
bythe Oireachtas will be discussedin detail in Chapter 7. 101
The types of suspended sentence developed by the courts comprise the following: the
straightforward suspended sentence, the reviewable sentence or Butler Order, the part
suspended sentence, and the variation used in the District Court where a warrant of
execution for a term of custody is withheld for a defined period of time on condition that
the offender is not further convictedwithin that period.
The chapter then proceeds with an analysis of the ingredients of the sentence with
particular reference to the time elements of the sanction and the centrality of the
conditional nature of the suspension. The practical application of part suspended
sentences are further examined to determine whether they offend against constitutional
provisions in relation to the separation of powers andstatutoryprovisions in relation to the
remission of sentences.
101 Section 99 Criminal Justice Act as passed by both houses of the Oireachtas and signed into law by the President 16th of July, 2006. S.I. 390/2006
brought section into force on 2ndOctober 2006.
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