R v Z (Appellant) (On Appeal from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division))

In the House of Lords case of R v Z (Appellant), the appellant was charged with belonging to the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000. The central issue was whether the Real IRA constituted a proscribed organisation under the Act. The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland had ruled in the affirmative, but the appellant appealed this decision to the House of Lords. The Lords, in a majority decision, upheld the Court of Appeal's ruling. They concluded that the Real IRA was indeed a proscribed organisation under the Act. The court held that the term "Irish Republican Army" in the Act was an umbrella term that encompassed all manifestations or splinter groups, including the Real IRA. The court rejected the argument that the Real IRA was not a proscribed organisation as it was not explicitly listed in the Schedule to the Act. The Lords found that the intention of Parliament was to proscribe all organisations claiming to be the "true" IRA. The court also dismissed the argument that the Act's provisions for deproscription would be ineffective if an umbrella group of organisations was listed. The majority of the Lords concluded that the Real IRA was covered under section 3(1)(a) of the Act, which listed the IRA as a proscribed organisation. The appeal was therefore dismissed.