(1) At any time within 90 days before an offender's annual review date, the offender, if still eligible for release on parole, may apply to be released on parole.
(1A) For the purposes of this section, an
"offender's annual review date" occurs on each anniversary of the offender's parole eligibility date.
(2) After receiving such an application, but not more than 60 days before the offender's annual review date, the Parole Authority must consider whether or not the offender should be released on parole.
(3) Despite subsection (2)--(a) if the offender is unlawfully at large following revocation of parole, the Parole Authority is not required to consider the offender's case until the offender is returned to custody, and(b) if the offender is unlawfully at large for the whole of one or more years following the revocation, the Parole Authority may decline to consider the offender's case at all in relation to that year or those years, and(c) in any case, the Parole Authority may decline to consider an offender's case for up to 3 years at a time after it last considered the grant of parole to the offender.