Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967

37 F1Inspectors and powers of entry.N.I.

Subs. (1) rep. by 1995 NI 18

(2)An inspector appointed under this Part shall, for the purposes of the enforcement of [F2Part 2] and this Part, have power to—

(a)enter and inspect any motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers F3... by road for reward, and for that purpose may stop and detain the vehicle during such time as is required for the inspection;

(b)enter, at any time which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances, any premises in or on which he has reason to believe that a motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers F4... by road for reward is kept;

(c)enter, at any time which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances, any premises which he has reason to believe are used in connection with the carriage of passengers F5... by road for reward.

(3)If a justice of the peace, on sworn information in writing, is satisfied—

(a)that an inspector appointed under this section has been refused admission to any premises which he has a right to enter under subsection (2), or that such a refusal is apprehended, and that notice of the intention to apply for the warrant has been given to the occupier; or

(b)that an application for admission to the premises, or the giving of such a notice, would defeat the object of the entry, or that the premises are unoccupied or that the owner is temporarily absent;

the justice may by warrant under his hand, which shall continue in force for a period of one month, give authority to an inspector to enter the premises, if need be by force.

(4)An inspector entering any premises under this section may take with him such other persons as appear to him to be necessary.

(5)On leaving any premises which he has entered under this section, being premises which are unoccupied or the occupier of which is temporarily absent, an inspector shall leave them as effectively secured against unauthorised entry as he found them.

(6)If any inspector or other person who enters any work-place under this section discloses to any person any information obtained by him in the work-place with regard to any manufacturing process or trade secret he shall, unless the disclosure was made in the course of his duty, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding[F6 level 3 on the standard scale] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, with or without a fine.

F1mod. by SR 1987/187, 383