Irish Examiner view: Criminal Justice Act 2023 is as welcome as it is overdue

Stalking, domestic abuse, and assaults on emergency personnel including gardaí are addressed with new offences and tougher sentences in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act

Una Ring and Eve McDowell at the April 2022 announcement that the Government intended to make stalking and non-fatal strangulation standalone offences. Women such as them helped ensure such provisions were included in the new Criminal Justice Act. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

As of yesterday the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 came into effect, and not before time. The law introduces new criminal offences as well as tougher sentencing provisions for existing offences, all of them clearly reflecting changes in society. 

The provisions include increasing the maximum sentence for assault causing harm, a common offence in domestic abuse cases as well as in other assaults, from five years to 10 years; widening the scope of the existing harassment offence to include conduct that seriously interferes with a person’s peace and privacy, or causes alarm, distress, or harm; and creating a standalone offence of stalking, with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years.