The Law Society of Ireland has come out in support of a Supreme Court judge’s call for codification of the criminal law. Yesterday, Mr Justice Peter Charleton of the Supreme Court wrote in favour of such codification.

President Michele O’Boyle said: “Although it would, no doubt, be a huge undertaking, the concept of codification of criminal law in this jurisdiction had gathered quite some momentum in the past.

Phased approach

“A good deal of work has already been done to develop a framework, within which the various categories of criminal law could be separated and codified in a phased approach.“

Codification of law involves consolidating existing legislation on an area of law, such as criminal law, into a single, modern piece of legislation, with the aim of providing clarity and consistency in the application of the law.

“The clarity and consistency would be of benefit to all – lawyers, judges, defendants, and the victims of crime as well,“ President O’Boyle said in a statement last night.