The Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

Offences

9.—(1) Where the commission by any person of an offence under this Order is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence, and a person may be charged with and convicted of the offence by virtue of this paragraph whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person,

(2) For the purposes of this Order, section 20(2) of the [1954 c. 33 (N.I.).] Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 applies with the omission of the words “the liability of whose members is limited” and, where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this Order it shall, subject to paragraph (4), be a defence for the person charged to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or by a person under his control.

(4) If in any case the defence provided by paragraph (3) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person, the person charged shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless, at least 7 days before the hearing, he has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in his possession.