Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2025
Government bill, sponsored by the Portfolio of Legal Affairs (PLA)
Deferred.
What this law does
This bill amends the Cayman Islands Criminal Procedure Code to update how courts handle people found not guilty by reason of insanity or found unfit to plead. Instead of the Governor deciding such cases, the court would choose from a set of orders, such as supervision, treatment, conditional discharge, or absolute discharge, after hearing from mental health professionals.
- Courts, rather than the Governor, would decide how to handle people found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to plead, choosing from supervision, treatment, Alternative Sentencing Act, conditional discharge, or absolute discharge orders.
- Supervision or treatment orders require evidence from at least one psychiatrist or psychologist, and the court must consult the Chief Medical Officer and assigned mental health professionals before discharge.
- Section 158 (special verdicts for insanity at the time of the offence) and section 48 (bail/detention of accused found insane during proceedings) are rewritten in simpler language.
- Transitional rules let the Governor set conditions, such as supervision or outpatient treatment, for people already in custody under the old section 159 before discharging them.
Who it affects: persons charged with offences who are found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to plead, mental health professionals and psychiatrists/psychologists, the Chief Medical Officer, courts and the Governor, hospitals and places of safety, social workers assigned to affected persons
This summary is AI-generated from the official document and may contain errors; it is not legal advice. Always consult the source text below.
Official documents
Debated in Parliament
Hansard sittings whose records mention this law: