Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944

19 Provisions as to offences. E+W+S

(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act shall not be instituted in England except by or with the consent of the Minister or by an officer authorised in that behalf by special or general directions of the Minister.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision in any Act prescribing the period within which summary proceedings may be commenced, proceedings for an offence under this Act may be commenced at any time within the period of three months from the date on which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of the Minister to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to his knowledge, or within the period of twelve months from the date on which the offence was committed, whichever period last expires, and for the purposes of this subsection a certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Minister as to the date on which such evidence as aforesaid came to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence thereof.

(3) Where the person convicted of an offence under this Act in respect of which a fine up to a maximum amount of one hundred pounds may be imposed under any of the preceding provisions thereof is a body corporate, the maximum amount of the fine which may be imposed on that body shall be [F1 level 5 on the standard scale]in lieu of one hundred pounds.

(4) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, every person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director or officer of the body corporate, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence, unless he proves that the contravention was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

(5) Proceedings against a person for an offence under this Act alleged to have been committed outside Great Britain may be taken before the appropriate court in Great Britain having jurisdiction in the place where that person is for the time being.

(6) Subsection (2) of this section shall in its application to Scotland have effect as if for the reference to evidence sufficient to justify a prosecution there were substituted a reference to evidence sufficient to justify a report to the Lord Advocate with a view to consideration of the question of prosecution.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of (E. W. ) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46 and (S. ) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G