Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Treasure Act 1996 (c. 24)

40 After section 8A (inserted by section 30 of this Act) insert—

“8B Notice under section 8 or 8A to designated officer

(1) A requirement under section 8 or 8A to give a notification to the Coroner for Treasure (or an Assistant Coroner for Treasure) may, if the relevant place falls within an area for which there is a designated officer, be complied with by giving the notification to that officer.

(2) A designated officer must notify the Coroner for Treasure of all notifications given under subsection (1).

(3) If the office of Coroner for Treasure is vacant, notification under subsection (2) must be given to an Assistant Coroner for Treasure.

(4) In this section—

• “designated officer” means an officer designated by an order made by statutory instrument by the Secretary of State;

• “the relevant place” means—

  (a)

  in relation to a requirement under section 8, the place where the object in question was found;

  (b)

  in relation to a requirement under section 8A, the place where the treasure in question is located.

(5) A statutory instrument containing an order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(6) In its application to Northern Ireland this section has effect as if—

(a) in subsection (1), for “the Coroner for Treasure (or an Assistant Coroner for Treasure)” there were substituted “a coroner”;

(b) in subsection (2), for “Coroner for Treasure” there were substituted “coroner for the district in which the relevant place falls”;

(c) in subsection (3), for the words from “Coroner for Treasure” to “Assistant Coroner for Treasure” there were substituted “coroner for a district is vacant, the person acting as coroner for that district is the coroner for the purposes of subsection (2)”.

8C Offences under section 8 or 8A: period for bringing proceedings

(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 8 or 8A may be brought within the period of six months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to the prosecutor’s knowledge; but no such proceedings may be brought by virtue of this subsection more than three years after the commission of the offence.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) a certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor and stating the date on which the evidence referred to in that subsection came to the prosecutor’s knowledge shall be conclusive evidence to that effect; and

(b) a certificate to that effect and purporting to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.”