Criminal Justice Act 2003

317 Power to substitute conviction of alternative offence on appeal in Northern Ireland

(1) The Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980 (c. 47) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 3 (power to substitute conviction of alternative offence) in subsection (1) after “an offence” there is inserted “to which he did not plead guilty”.

(3) After section 3 there is inserted—

“3A Power to substitute conviction of alternative offence after guilty plea

(1) This section applies where—

(a) an appellant has been convicted of an offence to which he pleaded guilty,

(b) if he had not so pleaded, he could on the indictment have pleaded, or been found, guilty of some other offence, and

(c) it appears to the Court of Appeal that the plea of guilty indicates an admission by the appellant of facts which prove him guilty of that other offence.

(2) The Court may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the appellant’s plea of guilty a plea of guilty of that other offence and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be warranted in law by the plea so substituted.”