Minister Ahern publishes the Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Bill 2010

The Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr Dermot Ahern T.D., has today published the Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Bill 2010. The Bill is intended to deal with the issue of the use of justifiable force in the defence of the person and the persons home in the context of a trespasser entering the home with criminal intent.

The legislation which currently applies in relation to self defence generally is the Non Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997. The new Bill being published will clarify the criminal and the civil law in relation to the particular circumstances relating to the application of justifiable self defence on the part of an occupier of a home dwelling against trespassers entering the home with the intention of committing a crime.

The Bill makes specific provision for:

· definitions for such terms as "dwelling", "property" and the "curtilage" of the dwelling.

· the extent to which justifiable force may be used against an intruder.

· that the use of justifiable force against an intruder with criminal intent would not exclude the use of force causing death

· the absence of a requirement on the part of an occupier to retreat when defending the dwelling or the people in it against an intruder entering with criminal intent.

· that a person who uses such force as is permitted by the Bill will not be liable in tort in respect of any injury, loss or damage arising from such force.

Speaking on its publication, Minister Ahern said: "I consider that an attack in the home has unique characteristics given the potentially emotive nature of an encounter between an intruder with criminal intent and the occupier wishing to defend his or her home or property and perhaps other family members. This Bill is intended to give recognition to the unique circumstances which prevail when an intruder is being confronted in the place we all have a right to feel is a place of safety, that is our own home."

The General Scheme of this Bill received Government approval on 16 February 2010. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform had undertaken to prepare legislation in this area following the publication in December 2009 of a Report by the Law Reform Commission on the issue of Defences in Criminal Law, which also examined the question of the application of self defence in the context of an attack in the home. The Minister intends to have the Bill considered by the Oireachtas as soon as parliamentary time permits.

The Bill is available on the Oireachtas website www.oireachtas.ie