- involves a question of fact alone or a question of mixed law and fact or any other ground which appears to the court to be a sufficient ground of appeal;
and the Court of Criminal Appeal on any such appeal shall subject as hereinafter provided allow the appeal if they think that the special verdict should be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable or cannot be supported having regard to the evidence, or that the order of the court giving effect to the special verdict should be set aside on the ground of a wrong decision of any question of law or that on any ground there was a miscarriage of justice, and shall in any other case dismiss the appeal.
(2) The Court of Criminal Appeal may dismiss an appeal against a special verdict if of opinion that notwithstanding that the point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant no substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred.
(3) Where apart from this subsection—
- (a) an appeal against a special verdict would fall to be allowed, and
- (b) none of the grounds for allowing it relates to the question of the insanity of the accused,
the Court of Criminal Appeal may dismiss the appeal if of opinion that but for the insanity of the accused the proper verdict would have been that he was guilty of an offence other than the offence charged.
(4) This and the next following section shall be construed as one with the Criminal Appeal Act 1907; and—
- (a) references in sections 7, 8, 15(2), 18(1), 19, and 20(2) of that Act, and in the definition of “appellant” in section 21 thereof, to a person's being convicted shall include references to his being the subject of a special verdict;
- (b) the reference in section 11 of that Act to a person’s being in custody shall not include a reference to his being in custody in consequence of a special verdict.
Supplementary provisions where appeal against special verdict allowed. 3.—(1) Where in accordance with the foregoing section an appeal against a special verdict is allowed:—
- (a) if the ground, or one of the grounds, for allowing the appeal is that the finding of the jury as to the insanity of the accused ought not to stand and the Court of Criminal Appeal are of opinion that the proper verdict would have been that he was guilty of an offence (whether the offence charged or any other offence of which the jury could have found him guilty), the court shall substitute for the special verdict a verdict of guilty of that offence, and shall have the like powers
