The Criminal Justice (Evidence, Etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988

PART IV MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTARY

Corruption

14.—(1) The following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (a) of section 2 of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889(1) (penalty for corruption in office)—

“(a) be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both; and

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to a fine, or to both; and”.

(2) In subsection (1) of section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906(2) (punishment of corrupt transactions with agents) for the words from “shall be liable” to the end of the subsection there shall be substituted the words

“shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both; and

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to a fine, or to both..”

(3) Nothing in this Article shall affect the punishment for an offence committed before this Article comes into operation.

Summary offence of possession of indecent photograph of child

15.—(1) It is an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph of a child (meaning in this Article a person under the age of 16) in his possession.

(2) Where a person is charged with an offence under paragraph (1), it shall be a defence for him to prove—

(a) that he had a legitimate reason for having the photograph in his possession; or

(b) that he had not himself seen the photograph and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect, it to be indecent; or

(c) that the photograph was sent to him without any prior request made by him or on his behalf and that he did not keep it for an unreasonable time.

(3) A person shall be liable on summary conviction of an offence under paragraph (1) to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(4) Proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(5) Articles 2(2) and (3), 7(1) and 8 of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978(3) shall have effect as if any reference in them to that Order included a reference to this Article.

(6) Possession before this Article comes into operation is not an offence.

Amendments and repeals

16.—(1) Schedule 2 (which makes minor and consequential amendments) shall have effect.

(2) The statutory provisions mentioned in Schedule 3 are hereby repealed to the extent set out in the third column of that Schedule.

(1)

1889 c. 69

(2)

1906 c. 34

(3)

1978 NI 17