Data Offences
CRIMINAL DAMAGE ACT 1991
REVISED
Updated to 12 June 2017
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO OFFENCES OF DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND TO PROVIDE FOR CONNECTED MATTERS. [27 th December, 1991]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Interpretation.
1.— (1) In this Act—
“ compensation order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 (1) ;
“ to damage” includes—
( a) in relation to property F1 [ … ], to destroy, deface, dismantle or, whether temporarily or otherwise, render inoperable or unfit for use or prevent or impair the operation of,
( b) F1 [ … ]
(c) to do any act within the State that damages property outside the State,
(d) to do any act outside the State that damages property within the State, and
(e) to make an omission causing damage,
and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
F1 [ … ]
“ property” means—
( a) property of a tangible nature, whether real or personal, including money and animals that are capable of being stolen, and
( b) F1 [ … ]
(2) Property shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as belonging to any person—
( a) having lawful custody or control of it,
( b) having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest), or
( c) having a charge over it.
(3) Where, as respects an offence under section 2 , 3 (a) or 4 (a) —
( a) the property concerned is a family home within the meaning of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976, F2 [ or a dwelling, within the meaning of section 2 (2) of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976 , as amended by section 54 (1) ( a ) of the Family Law Act, 1995 , in which a person, who is a party to a marriage that has been dissolved under the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, or under the law of a country or jurisdiction other than the State, being a divorce that is entitled to be recognised as valid in the State, ordinarily resided with his or her former spouse, before the dissolution ] and
( b) the person charged—
F3 [ (i) is the spouse of a person who resides, or is entitled to reside, in the home or is a party to a marriage that has been dissolved under the Family Law (Divorce) Act, 1996, or under the law of a country or jurisdiction other than the State, being a divorce that is entitled to be recognised as valid in the State, and ]
(ii) is the subject of a protection order or barring order (within the meaning in each case of the Family Law (Protection of Spouses and Children) Act, 1981) or is excluded from the home pursuant to an order under section 16 ( a) of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989, or any other order of a court,
sections 2 , 3 ( a) and 4 ( a) shall have effect as if the references therein to any property belonging to another, however expressed, were references to the home.
F4 [ (3A) A reference to any property belonging to another, however expressed, shall be construed as a reference to a shared home as respects an offence under section 2 , 3(a) or 4(a) if —
(a) the property is either a shared home or a dwelling, within the meaning of section 27 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, in which a person who was a civil partner in a civil partnership that has been dissolved under that Act ordinarily resided with his or her former civil partner before the dissolution, and
(b) the person charged —
(i) is the civil partner, or was the civil partner until the dissolution of their civil partnership, of a person who resides, or is entitled to reside, in the home, and
(ii) is the subject of a protection order or barring order or is excluded from the home pursuant to an order under the Domestic Violence Act 1996 as amended by Part 9 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 or another order of a court. ]
(4) Where property is subject to a trust, the persons to whom the property belongs shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as including any person having a right to enforce the trust.
(5) Property of a corporation sole shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as belonging to the corporation notwithstanding a vacancy in it.
(6) In this Act—
( a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act,
( b) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,
( c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F1
Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(a), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
F2
Inserted (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 48(a), commenced as per s. 1(2).
F3
Substituted (27.02.1997) by Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 (33/1996), s. 48(b), commenced as per s. 1(2).
F4
Inserted (1.01.2011) by Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (24/2010), s. 101, S.I. No. 648 of 2010.
Damaging property.
2.— (1) A person who without lawful excuse damages any property belonging to another intending to damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be damaged shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) A person who without lawful excuse damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another—
( a) intending to damage any property or being reckless as to whether any property would be damaged, and
( b) intending by the damage to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) A person who damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another, with intent to defraud shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) An offence committed under this section by damaging property by fire shall be charged as arson.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
( a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and
( b) on conviction on indictment—
(i) in case the person is guilty of arson under subsection (1) or (3) or of an offence under subsection (2) (whether arson or not), to a fine or imprisonment for life or both, and
(ii) in case the person is guilty of any other offence under this section, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.
(6) For the purposes of this section a person is reckless if he has foreseen that the particular kind of damage that in fact was done might be done and yet has gone on to take the risk of it.
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E1
Offence under subs. (2)(b) designated a “specified offence” (6.04.2014) by Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), s. 30 and sch. part 2 item 9, S.I. No. 163 of 2014.
E2
Offences under section occurring before 12.06.2017, in so far as they relate to data or a storage medium in which such data are kept, designated a “relevant offence” (9.08.2011) by Criminal Justice Act 2011 (22/2011), s. 3(1) and sch. 1 para. 30, S.I. No. 411 of 2011, as substituted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 15, S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
E3
Offence of arson under subs. (1) or (3), or offence under subs. (2) designated a “relevant offence” (1.09.2010) by Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010), s. 7 and sch. item 20, S.I. No. 414 of 2010.
E4
Offence under section may be “terrorist activity” as provided (8.07.2005) by Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 (2/2005), s. 4 and sch. 2 part 1 para. 5, commenced on enactment.
E5
Offence under section may be offence of attack on an internationally protected person (including official premises, private accommodation and means of transport) as provided (8.07.2005) by Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 (2/2005), s. 11(1)(b) and sch. 6 part 2 item 6(a), commenced on enactment.
E6
Offence under section designated a “specified offence” (28.06.2000) by Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 (16/2000), s. 3 and sch. 2 part 2 item 2, commenced on enactment.
E7
Offence under section designated a “serious offence” (4.09.1998 and 15.05.2000) by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), s. 1 and sch. paras. 18, 29 and 30, S.I. No. 315 of 1998 and S.I. No. 118 of 2000, as amended (18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), s. 17(d), S.I. No. 236 of 2007.
E8
Offence under subs. (2) committed outside the State not to be regarded as a political offence as provided by Extradition (European Convention of the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987 (1/1987), s. 3(3A) as inserted (22.08.1994) by Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 (6/1994), s. 2(b) and sch. 1 para. 11.
Threat to damage property.
3.— A person who without lawful excuse makes to another a threat, intending that that other would fear it would be carried out—
( a) to damage any property belonging to that other or a third person, or
( b) to damage his own property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of that other or a third person,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E9
Offence under subs. (3)(b) designated a “specified offence” (6.04.2014) by Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), s. 30 and sch. part 2 item 9, S.I. No. 163 of 2014.
E10
Offences under section occurring before 12.06.2017, in so far as they relate to data or a storage medium in which such data are kept, designated a “relevant offence” (9.08.2011) by Criminal Justice Act 2011 (22/2011), s. 3(1) and sch. 1 para. 30, S.I. No. 411 of 2011, as substituted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 15, S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
E11
Offence under section designated a “specified offence” (28.06.2000) by Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 (16/2000), s. 3 and sch. 2 part 2 item 2, commenced on enactment.
E12
Offence under section designated a “serious offence” (4.09.1998 and 15.05.2000) by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), s. 1 and sch. paras. 18, 29 and 30, S.I. No. 315 of 1998 and S.I. No. 118 of 2000, as amended (18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), s. 17(d), S.I. No. 236 of 2007.
Possessing any thing with intent to damaged property.
4.— A person (in this section referred to as the possessor) who has any thing in his custody or under his control intending without lawful excuse to use it or cause or permit another to use it—
( a) to damage any property belonging to some other person, or
( b) to damage his own or the intended user’s property—
(i) in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of a person other than the possessor, or
(ii) with intent to defraud,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—
(A) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and
(B) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or both.
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E13
Offence under subs. (4)(b)(i) designated a “specified offence” (6.04.2014) by Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), s. 30 and sch. part 2 item 9, S.I. No. 163 of 2014.
E14
Offences under section occurring before 12.06.2017, in so far as they relate to data or a storage medium in which such data are kept, designated a “relevant offence” (9.08.2011) by Criminal Justice Act 2011 (22/2011), s. 3(1) and sch. 1 para. 30, S.I. No. 411 of 2011, as substituted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 15, S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
E15
Offence under section designated a “specified offence” (28.06.2000) by Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 (16/2000), s. 3 and sch. 2 part 2 item 2, commenced on enactment.
E16
Offence under section designated a “serious offence” (4.09.1998 and 15.05.2000) by Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), s. 1 and sch. paras. 18, 29 and 30, S.I. No. 315 of 1998 and S.I. No. 118 of 2000, as amended (18.05.2007) by Criminal Justice Act 2007 (29/2007), s. 17(d), S.I. No. 236 of 2007.
Unauthorised accessing of data.
5.— F5 [ … ]
Annotations:
Amendments:
F5
Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(b), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
“Without lawful excuse”.
6.— (1) This section applies to—
( a) any offence under section 2 (1) or 5 ,
( b) any offence under section 3 other than one involving a threat by the person charged to damage property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of another, and
( c) any offence under section 4 other than one involving an intent by the person charged to use, or cause or permit the use of, something in his custody or under his control to damage property in such a way as aforesaid.
(2) A person charged with an offence to which this section applies shall, whether or not he would be treated for the purposes of this Act as having a lawful excuse apart from this subsection, be treated for those purposes as having a lawful excuse—
( a) if at the time of the act or acts alleged to constitute the offence he believed that the person or persons whom he believed to be entitled to consent to or authorise the damage to (or, in the case of an offence under section 5 , the accessing of) the property in question had consented, or would have consented to or authorised it if he or they had known of the damage or the accessing and its circumstances,
( b) F6 [ … ]
F7 [ ( c ) if he damaged or threatened to damage the property in question or, in the case of an offence under section 4 , intended to use or cause or permit the use of something to damage it, in order to protect himself or another or property belonging to himself or another or a right or interest in property which was or which he believed to be vested in himself or another and the act or acts alleged to constitute the offence were reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be. ]
(3) For the purposes of this section it is immaterial whether a belief is justified or not if it is honestly held.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) a right or interest in property includes any right or privilege in or over land, whether created by grant, licence or otherwise.
(5) This section shall not be construed as casting doubt on any defence recognised by law as a defence to criminal charges.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F6
Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(c), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
F7
Substituted (19.08.1997) by Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 (26/1997), s. 21, commenced as per s. 32(2).
Proceedings.
7.— (1) Proceedings for an F8 [ offence under section 2 alleged to have been committed by a person outside the State in relation to property situate within the State ] may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the State.
(2) ( a) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 2 , 3 or 4 in relation to property belonging to another—
(i) it shall not be necessary to name the person to whom the property belongs, and
(ii) it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that the property belongs to another.
( b) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 2 in relation to such property as aforesaid, it shall also be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that the person entitled to consent to or authorise the damage concerned had not consented to or F9 [ authorised it ].
( c) F10 [ … ]
(3) F11 [ … ]
Annotations:
Amendments:
F8
Substituted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(d)(i), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
F9
Substituted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(d)(ii)(I), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
F10
Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(d)(ii)(II), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
F11
Deleted (12.06.2017) by Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (11/2017), s. 13(d)(iii), S.I. No. 249 of 2017.
Jurisdiction of District Court.
8.— No rule of law ousting the jurisdiction of the District Court to try offences where a dispute of title to property is involved shall preclude that court from trying offences under this Act.
Compensation order.