Vol. 461 No. 8
117 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice if she will have arrangements made to have the law of conspiracy, where it relates to drug dealing, importation and supply, referred by the Attorney General to the Law Reform Commission for urgent review in view of the fact that this would appear to be an essential step to combat the drug barons. [1001/96]
Existing law contains a common law offence of conspiracy. The Law Reform Commission in its report on dishonesty looked at the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud and recommended no changes in the law in relation to it. While its consideration of the matter arose in the context of fraud, the commission mentioned in relation to the law on conspiracy generally that the courts have frequently stated that conspiracy should not be charged when the evidence relied upon to establish it is the evidence of substantive offences also laid in the same indictment. The commission concluded that "aside from that very reasonable restriction, the offence of conspiracy still plays an important role in our criminal law".
I should mention also a couple of recent legislative developments in relation to conspiracy in so far as drug-related offences are concerned. The definition of drug trafficking offence contained in the Criminal Justice Act, 1994, includes conspiring to commit the substantive offences set out in the definition e.g. offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. I should mention also that the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Bill before the House at present contains a similar definition and, accordingly, it is proposed that the additional powers of detention which it contains would apply to conspiracy to commit drug trafficking offences.
I am examining what difficulties, if any, may arise in practice with the existing law of conspiracy in relation to drug trafficking and, in that context, will consider the Deputy's suggestion that the matter might be referred to the Law Reform Commission.
