(1) At the first appearance before the Supreme Court of a defendant committed to the Court on a plea of guilty entered before justices, the Supreme Court is to list the defendant for sentencing on a day fixed by the Court.
(2) At the first or a subsequent appearance before the Supreme Court of a defendant committed to the Court on any plea, other than a plea of guilty –
(c) [Section 331B Amended by No. 23 of 2013, s. 4, Applied:01 Sep 2013] the Court is to warn the defendant that he or she may not be permitted at trial to give evidence of an alibi or to call witnesses in support of an alibi unless he or she gives the Director of Public Prosecutions written notice of that alibi and of those witnesses within the time provided in section 368A ; and
(a) if the applicant is the defendant, relevant evidence in respect of the witness to which the application relates was not disclosed to the defendant before the committal order in respect of the offence was made;
(b) if the applicant is a Crown Law Officer, it is in the interests of justice to allow the Crown to examine the witness to which the application relates;
(c) the witness to which the application relates is ill or is going to leave the jurisdiction indefinitely;
(d) both the defendant and the Crown Law Officer agree that a preliminary proceedings order should be made under the application;
(e) it is in the interests of justice, on any other grounds, for the preliminary proceedings order to be made under the application.
(3) The Supreme Court may only make an order under subsection (2)(b) requiring a witness named in the order to give evidence on oath in preliminary proceedings –
(a) if the defendant, or Crown law officer, in his or her application for the order has identified a matter in respect of which the witness is to be questioned, has specified why the evidence of the witness is relevant to that matter and has specified why cross-examination, or examination, of the witness is justified; and
(a) [Section 331B Amended by No. 26 of 2020, s. 19, Applied:01 Mar 2021] in respect of a witness who is not an affected person, may limit the matters on which the witness may be examined, cross-examined and re-examined and impose conditions in relation to such examination, cross-examination and re-examination; and
(b) [Section 331B Amended by No. 26 of 2020, s. 19, Applied:01 Mar 2021] in respect of a witness who is an affected person, must limit the matters on which the witness may be examined, cross-examined and re-examined and may impose conditions in relation to such examination, cross-examination and re-examination.
(5) If the Supreme Court makes an order under subsection (2)(b) , the Court is to remand the defendant in custody or admit him or her on bail to appear before justices, at the time and on the day specified in the order.