• A. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

• B. STATUTORY RAPE UNDER THE CRIMINAL LAW AMENDMENT ACT 1935

• C. CC v IRELAND

  • (1) Decision and reasoning

  • (2) Strict liability and punishing the morally innocent

  • (3) Strict liability and serious crime

  • (4) Strict liability and statutory rape

  • (5) The constitution and the criminal law

• D. THE LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE TO CC

  • (1) The key provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006

  • (2) An assessment of the 2006 Act

• E. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter is based on a report written in my capacity as Criminal Law Rapporteur for the Legal Protection of Children,which I had the honour of submitting to the Dáil and Seanad for consideration and debate on the subject of statutory rape and cognate offences. It tells the story of what happens when the fundamental doctrines of the criminal law are perceived to conflict with constitutional norms; at all events, it offers an Irish perspective on this difficult problem. I am honoured to be able to contribute a chapter to this Festschrift. I have known Sir Gerald since the autumn of 1968 when, as a young law graduate, I arrived at Edinburgh University to take the Diploma in Criminology. In my first weeks in that beautiful city, I purchased and read the first edition of Sir Gerald's treatise on the criminal law of Scotland, and knew instantly that my relationship with the discipline of criminology was destined to be a flirtation.