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Lord Goldsmith moved Amendment No. 160:
- After Clause 67, insert the following new clause—
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 160 on behalf of my noble friend Lady Scotland, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 248 with which it is grouped
The Bill upon introduction contained a clause in similar terms to the one introduced by Amendment No. 160. It was removed when reporting restrictions for this part of the Bill were made dependent on an order of the Court of Appeal rather than applying automatically on the basis that contempt of court proceedings would be available to the court to deal with any breach of the restrictions.
However, further consultation with colleagues in Scotland has indicated that an order of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales cannot be enforced by means of contempt proceedings in the Scottish courts. This clause is therefore required in order to allow reporting restrictions to be enforced throughout the United Kingdom. Without it the restrictions would not apply outside England and Wales. That could lead, for example, to a Scottish newspaper publishing details of a suspect or a case which could prejudice a retrial. The new offence will apply throughout the United Kingdom and may be enforced in the jurisdiction in which a breach takes place.
Amendment No. 248 is a consequential amendment to ensure that the new clause—"Offences in connection with publication restrictions"—extends to Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as to England and Wales. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 161 to 162A not moved.]
Clause 69 [Authorisation of investigations]:
[Amendment No. 162B not moved.]
Clause 70 [Urgent investigative steps]:
[Amendment No. 162C not moved.]
Clause 71 [Arrest and charge]:
[Amendment No. 162D not moved.]
Clause 72 [Bail and custody before application]:
[Amendment No. 162E not moved.]
Clause 73 [Bail and custody before hearing]:
[Amendment No. 162F not moved.]
Clause 74 [Bail and custody during and after hearing]:
[Amendment No. 162G not moved.]
Clause 75 [Revocation of bail]:
[Amendment No. 162H not moved.]
Clause 76 [Functions of the DPP]:
[Amendment No. 162J not moved.]
Lord Goldsmith moved Amendment No. 163:
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 163, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 164 and 165 to 167, all of which are tabled in the name of my noble friend Lady Scotland.
The amendments are minor and consequential. Amendment No. 164 has the effect of ensuring rules of court can be made in connection with orders of the court relating to the imposition of reporting restrictions. Amendment No. 163 is simply a drafting amendment which makes the provision about rules of court less specific. We consider this to be a good idea in the light of changes being made in the Courts Bill.
As a result of the new clause we have had to amend the previous definition of "officer" to allow for a reference in the new clause to an officer of a company. Amendment No. 165 is necessary for that purpose. Amendments Nos. 166 and 167 arise because there is now only a single reference to the 1979 Act, which makes its inclusion in the definitions section unnecessary. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Goldsmith moved Amendment No. 164:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendment No. 164A not moved.]
Clause 78 [Armed Forces: Part 9]:
[Amendment No. 164B not moved.]
Clause 79 [Interpretation of Part 9]:
Lord Goldsmith moved Amendments Nos. 165 to 167:
On Question, amendments agreed to.
[Amendment No. 167A not moved.]
Clause 80 [Application of Part 9 to Northern Ireland]:
Lord Goldsmith moved Amendment No. 168:
The noble and learned Lord said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 168, I shall speak also to government Amendments Nos. 169 to 173, 174 and 249, all of which are tabled in the name of my noble friend Lady Scotland.
In the main, these amendments are technical and consequential and arise from the extension of Part 9 to Northern Ireland. They are entirely necessary to ensure that the provisions of Part 9 operate properly in Northern Ireland and in the same way as in England and Wales. In particular, Amendment No. 174 provides an important new clause.
Amendments Nos. 168 to 173 are to Clause 80, which deals with the application of Part 9 to Northern Ireland. The amendments address certain differences between the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland and modify the operation of Part 9 in Northern Ireland. The amendments substitute the appropriate Northern Ireland references in terms of legislation and terminology to ensure that the provisions of Part 9 function correctly in the context of the Northern Ireland legal framework.
I draw attention to Amendment No. 174, which creates an entirely new clause. This provides the Secretary of State with an order-making power to apply any of the provisions under the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 or the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980 to the provisions of Part 9. As I am sure noble Lords will agree, this is an important provision. The new clause is necessary to ensure that the new and unique proceedings under Part 9 to the Court of Appeal will function as intended. This order-making power will allow the Secretary of State to apply any of the provisions of the Criminal Appeal Act to a proceeding under Part 9, if this is required, ensuring that the provisions of Part 9 will operate correctly in the event of unforeseen difficulties.
Amendment No. 249 provides change to the extent clause of the Bill, ensuring that the new clause will extend to Northern Ireland. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
"OFFENCES IN CONNECTION WITH PUBLICATION RESTRICTIONS
(1) This section applies if—
(a) an order under section 67 is made, whether in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, and
(b) while the order has effect, any matter is included in a publication, in any part of the United Kingdom, in contravention of the order.
(2) Where the publication is a newspaper or periodical, any proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical is guilty of an offence.
(3) Where the publication is a relevant programme—
(a) any body corporate or Scottish partnership engaged in providing the programme service in which the programme is included, and
(b) any person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of an editor of a newspaper,
is guilty of an offence.
(4) In the case of any other publication, any person publishing it is guilty of an offence.
(5) If an offence under this section committed by a body corporate is proved—
(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or
(b) to be attributable to any neglect on the part of,
an officer, the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(6) In subsection (5), "officer" means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity.
(7) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, "director" in subsection (6) means a member of that body.
(8) Where an offence under this section is committed by a Scottish partnership and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, he as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(9) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(10) Proceedings for an offence under this section may not be instituted—
(a) in England and Wales otherwise than by or with the consent of the Attorney General, or
(b) in Northern Ireland otherwise than by or with the consent of—
(i) before the relevant date, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, or
(ii) on or after the relevant date, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.
(11) In subsection (10) "the relevant date" means the date on which section 22(1) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (c. 26) comes into force."
Page 52, line 24, leave out from "(1)," to "may" in line 25 and insert "rules of court"
Page 52, line 26, leave out "66" and insert "67"
Page 53, leave out lines 3 and 4.
Page 53, line 9, leave out "1979 Act," and insert "Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2),"
Page 53, line 11, after first ""officer"" insert ", except in section (Offences in connection with publication restrictions),"
5 p.m.
Page 54, line 5, at end insert—
"( ) In section 67(10) after "enactment" in each place insert "(including any provision of Northern Ireland legislation)"."
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