27. (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Board may make an order that the parole applicant be released on parole (in this Act referred to as a “parole order”), where it is satisfied that—

(a) the parole applicant—

(i) would not, upon being released, present an undue risk to the safety and security of members of the public (including the relevant victim), and

(ii) has been rehabilitated and would, upon being released, be capable of reintegrating into society,

and

(b) it is appropriate in all the circumstances that the parole applicant be released on parole.

(2) The Board shall, in deciding whether to make a parole order in respect of a parole applicant, have regard to—

(a) the nature and gravity of the offence to which the sentence of imprisonment being served by the parole applicant relates,

(b) the sentence of imprisonment concerned and any recommendation of the court that imposed that sentence in relation thereto,

F6[(ba) without prejudice to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) to (m), in the case of a foreign sentence—

(i) any restriction, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, for the whole term of the sentence regarding the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole),

(ii) any condition, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, that means the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole) was conditional on his or her having served a specified term of imprisonment where the condition was as a result of—

(I) a decision or order by the court or tribunal that imposed the sentence,

(II) the operation of law of the state in which the sentence was imposed, or

(III) a decision of a body in the state in which the sentence was imposed, other than a body referred to in clause (I), on whom a power to make such a decision has been conferred by law,]

(c) the period of the sentence of imprisonment served by the parole applicant,

(d) any offence of which the parole applicant was convicted other than the offence to which the sentence of imprisonment being served by him or her relates,

(e) the conduct of the parole applicant—

(i) while serving the sentence of imprisonment,

(ii) while previously the subject of a parole order, if any,

(iii) while the subject of a direction under section 2 F6[or 2A] of the Act of 1960, if any, or

(iv) during a period of temporary release, if any, to which rules under section 2 of the Act of 1960, made before the coming into operation of the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003, applied,

(f) the risk of the parole applicant committing an offence while on parole,

(g) the risk of the parole applicant failing to comply with any conditions attaching to his or her release on parole,

(h) any treatment, education or training the parole applicant has undergone, or programmes he or she has participated in, while serving the sentence of imprisonment,

(i) any report relating to the parole applicant prepared and furnished to the Board pursuant to a direction in that regard under section 13,

(j) any meeting with the parole applicant conducted in accordance with procedures determined under section 14,

(k) any submissions made by or on behalf of the parole applicant, including any submissions made in relation to a draft decision on parole, in accordance with procedures determined under section 14,

(l) any submissions made by or on behalf of the relevant victim in accordance with procedures determined under section 14, and

(m) any such other matter as the Board considers appropriate.

(3) The Board shall not make a parole order in respect of a parole applicant where—

(a) the release of the parole applicant from prison is prohibited by or under any enactment, whether passed before or after the coming into operation of this section, or

(b) the parole applicant has been charged with, or convicted of, an offence and is in custody pursuant to an order of a court remanding him to appear at a future sitting of a court.

F6[(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a reference in that subsection to any recommendation of the court that imposed the sentence shall, in the case of a foreign sentence, be construed as a reference to any recommendation of the court or tribunal in the state that imposed the sentence.

(5) In this section, "foreign sentence", means—

(a) a sentence of imprisonment for life, or

(b) a sentence of imprisonment of a term equivalent to or longer than such term as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Minister under section 24(3),

that is imposed by a court or tribunal in a state, other than the State, the enforcement of which has been transferred to the State and thereafter continued in accordance with a committal order within the meaning of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995, the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005 or Part 3 of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023, as the case may be.]