Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023

5 Full disclosure to the ICRIR

(1) A relevant authority must make available to the ICRIR such—

(a) information,

(b) documents, and

(c) other material,

as the Commissioner for Investigations may reasonably require for the purposes of, or in connection with, the exercise of the review function or the immunity function.

(2) A relevant authority may also make available to the ICRIR any—

(a) information,

(b) documents, and

(c) other material,

which, in the view of that authority, may be needed for the purposes of, or in connection with, the exercise of the review function or the immunity function.

(3) It is for the relevant authority and the Commissioner for Investigations to agree the manner in which information, a document or other material is to be made available under this section (unless the Commissioner for Investigations imposes a requirement under subsection (4)).

(4) Information which the Commissioner for Investigations requires to be made available under subsection (1) is to be made available in such manner as that Commissioner may reasonably require.

(5) An agreement under subsection (3) may provide, and a requirement under subsection (4) may require, (in particular) that the relevant authority is to—

(a) give the information, document or other material to the Commissioner for Investigations;

(b) give a copy of the information, document or other material to the Commissioner for Investigations;

(c) allow the ICRIR to access the information, document or other material while it is held by the relevant authority.

(6) A requirement under subsection (4) (including anything required by virtue of subsection (5)) must be consistent with regulations under section 34(1).

(7) The Commissioner for Investigations may require any of the following persons to give the ICRIR such assistance as is reasonable for the purposes of, or in connection with, the effective use of information, documents and other material made available by that person under this section—

(a) the Chief Constable of the PSNI;

(b) the chief officer of a police force in Great Britain;

(c) the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland;

(d) the Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct;

(e) the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

(8) It is not a breach of—

(a) any obligation of confidence owed by a relevant authority, or

(b) any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed),

for a relevant authority to make information, documents and other material available under this section.

(9) In this section “copy” includes a photograph or similar representation.