We strongly welcome the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023 as a wide-ranging piece of legislation with significant potential. In this review, we consider Part 3 – dedicated to the establishment of a National Referal Mechanism – in detail. We also provide observations on Part 2 insofar as it aligns to the human trafficking framework and to other relevant legislative provisions that seek to protect vulnerable populations and potential victims of sexual exploitation crimes, including unidentified victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.
We note that this Bill also gives effect to recommendations by the Defence Forces Independent Review Group (‘IRG’) that the Defence Act 1954 is amended to ensure that persons subject to military law who commit sexual offences in this jurisdiction will be dealt with by An Garda Síochána and the civilian courts, rather than by court-martial.
The proposed observations and recommendations presented in this review are intended to bring attention to the most pressing issues arising in the Bill and offer possible solutions through suggested amendments.