The Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002

Disclosure of information N.I.

21.—(1) Notwithstanding any prohibition or restriction imposed by or under any statutory provision or rule of law, information of any description may be disclosed—

(a) by the Department to any relevant authority; or

(b) by any relevant authority to the Department or to any other relevant authority,

for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out by the Department or by any relevant authority of any of its functions under this Part; and no person shall be subject to any civil or criminal liability in consequence of any disclosure made by virtue of this paragraph.

(2) Nothing in this Article shall authorise the disclosure of information, disclosure of which would, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be contrary to the interests of national security.

(3) No information disclosed to any person under this Article shall be disclosed by that person to any other person otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Article, or any other statutory provision which authorises or requires the disclosure, if that information is information—

(a) which relates to a trade secret of any person or which otherwise is or might be commercially confidential in relation to any person; or

(b) whose disclosure otherwise than under this Article would, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be contrary to the interests of national security.

(4) Any authorisation by or under this Article of the disclosure of information by or to any person shall be taken to authorise the disclosure of that information by or, as the case may be, to any officer of his who is authorised by him to make the disclosure or, as the case may be, to receive the information.

(5) Information is for the purposes of this Article commercially confidential in relation to any person if its disclosure would prejudice to an unreasonable degree the commercial interest of that person.