# The Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, Article 20: Power to release certain prisoners on compassionate grounds


(1) The Department of Justice may, if satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist which justify the release of a prisoner to whom this Article applies on compassionate grounds, at any time release the prisoner on licence under this Article.
(2) This Articles applies to—
(a) a fixed-term prisoner; and
(b) a prisoner serving an indeterminate custodial sentence.
(3) The Department of Justice shall, before releasing a prisoner to whom Article 18 or 20A applies consult the Parole Commissioners unless the circumstances are such as to render such consultation impracticable.
(4) In this Article “fixed-term prisoner” includes a person serving a determinate custodial sentence for an offence committed before the commencement of this Article.
(5) The Secretary of State may notify the Department of Justice that a prisoner is not to be released under this Article without the Secretary of State's agreement; and, if the Secretary of State gives such a notification in relation to a prisoner, the Department of Justice may not release the prisoner under this Article without the Secretary of State's agreement.
(6) But the Secretary of State may—
(a) give a notification, or
(b) refuse his agreement to a release,
only if his decision to do so is arrived at (wholly or partly) on the basis of protected information.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/2008/1216/article/20 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-justice-northern-ireland-order-2008/article-20
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.