The Court of Criminal Appeal has certified a legal question about whether the statutory offence of endangerment can apply in circumstances such as those in Ronan McGrath’s case.
In a decision given by Denham J on 28 July 2004, the court certified the question under section 29 of the Courts of Justice Act 1924. It asked whether the offence under section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 could be construed to cover circumstances such as those in the case.
The decision records that the court had delivered judgment on 27 May 2004. It treated McGrath’s application for leave to appeal against conviction as the hearing of the appeal and dismissed the appeal. The judgment does not describe the conduct underlying the conviction or identify the trial court’s findings.
A notice seeking a certificate under section 29 had been filed and served on McGrath’s behalf. The court noted that he remained on continuing bail. The July decision certifies the stated point of law; it does not set out any further ruling on that question or alter the recorded dismissal of the appeal.