Criminal Law Act, 1997 is an Irish Act of the Oireachtas enacted to abolish the historical distinction between felony and misdemeanour and to amend and simplify the law concerning matters previously dependent on that distinction. The Act provides that all such distinctions are abolished and that, subject to the Act, matters previously affected by that distinction are to be governed by the law and practice applicable to misdemeanours at the commencement of the Act. It also defines “arrestable offence” by reference to offences punishable by imprisonment for five years or by a more severe penalty, including attempts to commit such offences. The Act regulates arrest powers in relation to arrestable offences, including arrest without warrant by any person in specified circumstances and broader arrest powers for members of the Garda Síochána. It further authorises entry and search of premises, including dwellings subject to particular conditions, for the purpose of effecting arrest either under a warrant, an order of committal, or without warrant in relation to an arrestable offence. The Act also establishes offences and penalties concerning assistance to offenders and concealment of information relevant to the prosecution or conviction of persons who have committed arrestable offences. The Act further standardises aspects of criminal procedure by addressing pleas, verdicts, alternative convictions on indictment, attempts, and the powers of courts in dealing with offenders. It abolishes penal servitude, imprisonment with hard labour, prison divisions and corporal punishment, replacing obsolete forms of punishment with ordinary imprisonment where applicable.