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| Police and army powers: code of practice. |
96. - (1) The Secretary of State may make codes of practice in connection with-
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(a) the exercise by police officers of any power conferred by this Act, and |
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(b) the seizure and retention of property found by police officers when exercising powers of search conferred by any provision of this Act. |
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(2) The Secretary of State may make codes of practice in connection with the exercise by members of Her Majesty's forces of powers by virtue of this Part.
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(3) In this section "police officer" means a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve.
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| Video recording: code of practice. |
97. - (1) The Secretary of State shall-
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(a) make a code of practice about the silent video recording of interviews to which this section applies, and |
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(b) make an order requiring the silent video recording of interviews to which this section applies in accordance with the code. |
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(2) This section applies to-
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(a) interviews by police officers of persons detained under section 39, and |
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(b) interviews held by police officers in such other circumstances as the Secretary of State may specify by order. |
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(3) In this section "police officer" means a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve.
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| Codes of practice: supplementary. |
98. - (1) This section applies to a code of practice under section 96 or 97.
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(2) Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a code of practice he shall-
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(b) consider any representations made to him about the draft, and |
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(c) if he thinks it appropriate, modify the draft in the light of any representations made to him. |
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(3) The Secretary of State shall lay a draft of the code before Parliament.
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(4) When the Secretary of State has laid a draft code before Parliament he may bring it into operation by order.
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(5) The Secretary of State may revise the whole or any part of a code of practice issued by him and issue the code as revised; and subsections (2) to (4) shall apply (with appropriate modifications) to such a revised code as they apply to the first issue of a code.
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(6) A failure by a police officer to comply with a provision of a code shall not of itself make him liable to criminal or civil proceedings.
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(7) A failure by a member of Her Majesty's forces to comply with a provision of a code shall not of itself make him liable to any criminal or civil proceedings other than-
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(a) proceedings under any provision of the Army Act 1955 or the Air Force Act 1955 other than section 70 (civil offences), and |
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(b) proceedings under any provision of the Naval Discipline Act 1957 other than section 42 (civil offences). |
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(8) A code-
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(a) shall be admissible in evidence in criminal or civil proceedings, and |
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(b) shall be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant. |
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(9) In this section-
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"criminal proceedings" includes proceedings in Northern Ireland before a court-martial constituted under the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 or the Naval Discipline Act 1957 or a disciplinary court constituted under section 50 of the 1957 Act and proceedings in Northern Ireland before the Courts-Martial Appeal Court, and |
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"police officer" means a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve. |
| Compensation. |
99. Schedule 11 (which provides for compensation to be paid for certain action taken under this Part) shall have effect.
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| Terrorist information. |
100. - (1) A person commits an offence if-
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(a) he collects, makes a record of, publishes, communicates or attempts to elicit information about a person to whom this section applies which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or |
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(b) he possesses a document or record containing information of that kind. |
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(2) This section applies to a person who is or has been-
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(b) a member of Her Majesty's Forces, |
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(c) the holder of a judicial office, |
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(d) an officer of any court, or |
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(e) a full-time employee of the prison service in Northern Ireland. |
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(3) In this section "record" includes a photographic or electronic record.
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(4) If it is proved in proceedings for an offence under subsection (1)(b) that a document or record-
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(a) was on any premises at the same time as the accused, or |
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(b) was on premises of which the accused was the occupier or which he habitually used otherwise than as a member of the public, |
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the court may assume that the accused possessed the document or record, unless he proves that he did not know of its presence on the premises or that he had no control over it.
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(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that he had a reasonable excuse for his action or possession.
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(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable-
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(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, to a fine or to both, or |
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(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both. |
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(7) A court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence under this section may order the forfeiture of any document or record containing information of the kind mentioned in subsection (1)(a).
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(8) Before making an order under subsection (7) a court must give an opportunity to be heard to any person, other than the convicted person, who claims to be the owner of or otherwise interested in anything which can be forfeited under that subsection.
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(9) An order under subsection (8) shall not come into force until there is no further possibility of it being varied, or set aside, on appeal (disregarding any power of a court to grant leave to appeal out of time).
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| Police powers: records. |
101. The Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary shall make arrangements for securing that a record is made of each exercise by a constable of a power under this Part in so far as-
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(a) it is reasonably practicable to do so, and |
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(b) a record is not required to be made under another enactment. |
| Powers. |
102. A power conferred on a person by virtue of this Part-
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(a) is additional to powers which he has at common law or by virtue of any other enactment, and |
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(b) shall not be taken to affect those powers or Her Majesty's prerogative. |
