Committee Function
To inquire into and report on the question whether the immunity from prosecution for certain sexual offences committed before 1 December 1982 conferred by the former section 76A of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 remaining after its repeal by the Criminal Law Consolidation Amendment Act 1985 should be removed in whole or in part (‘the removal of immunity’) and, in particular, to consider and report on:
(a) the Criminal Law Consolidation (Abolition of Time Limit for Prosecution of Certain Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill 2002;
(b) whether it is right, in principle and in policy, that a legislative immunity from prosecution, once conferred upon a person, should be retrospectively removed by Act of Parliament;
(c) whether the importance of bringing alleged offenders to the attention of the criminal justice system should override the difficulties (if any) of the removal of immunity;
(d) whether the removal of immunity should be limited to offences allegedly committed against children under the age of 12 years; and
(e) the relevance (if any) of the issues of contaminated or repressed memory in determining the question of the removal of immunity.