Section 7Part 2 — Powers of Courts
Committal for sentence on summary trial of offence triable either way
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7. (1) Subject to subsection (2)(c), this section applies where, on the summary trial of a Category B offence, a person who is not less than eighteen years old is convicted of an offence.
If a Summary Court is of opinion —
that an offence or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it was so serious that greater punishment should be inflicted for the offence than the court has the power to impose;
in the case of a violent or sexual offence, that a custodial sentence for a term longer than the court has power to impose is necessary to protect the public from serious harm from a person; or
that a conviction for a Category B or C offence in that court results in the breach of a Grand Court order, the Summary Court may, in accordance with Practice Directions issued under this section, commit the offender in custody or on bail to the Grand Court for sentence.
The preceding provisions shall apply in relation to a corporation as if —
the corporation was an individual who is not less than eighteen years old; and
in subsection (2), paragraph (b), the words “in custody or on bail” were omitted.
Where an accused is committed by a Summary Court under this section, the Grand Court shall inquire into the circumstances of the case and shall have power to deal with the offender in any manner in which it could deal with the offender if that offender had been convicted by the Grand Court.
Nothing in this section compels the Grand Court to impose a greater sentence than that which could have been imposed by the Summary Court.
The Chief Justice may, from time to time, issue Practice Directions relating to the power of a Summary Court to commit under this section and the procedure to be followed in such committals.