The Proceeds of Crime (Northern Ireland) Order 1996

8.—(1) The Secretary of State shall make a code of practice in connection with the exercise by financial investigators of the powers conferred by this Schedule.

(2) When the Secretary of State proposes to issue the code of practice under this paragraph he shall prepare and publish a draft of the code, shall consider any representations made to him about the draft and may modify the draft accordingly.

(3) The Secretary of State shall lay before both Houses of Parliament a draft of the code of practice prepared by him under this paragraph; and when he has laid the draft of the code before both Houses he may bring the code into operation by an order made by him.

(4) An order bringing the code of practice into operation may contain such transitional provisions or savings as appear to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient in connection with the code.

(5) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise the whole or any part of the code of practice issued by him under this paragraph and issue the code as revised; and the foregoing provisions of this paragraph shall apply (with appropriate modifications) to such a revised code as they apply to the first issue of the code.

(6) A failure on the part of a financial investigator to comply with any provision of a code of practice issued under this paragraph shall not of itself render him liable to any criminal or civil proceedings.

(7) In all criminal and civil proceedings such a code shall be admissible in evidence; and if any provision of such a code appears to the court or tribunal conducting the proceedings to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings it shall be taken into account in determining that question.

(8) In this paragraph “criminal proceedings” includes proceedings before a court-martial constituted under the [1955 c. 18.] Army Act 1955, the [1955 c. 19.] Air Force Act 1955 or the [1957 c. 53.] Naval Discipline Act 1957 or a disciplinary court constituted under section 50 of the said Act of 1957 and proceedings before the Courts-Martial Appeal Court.

(9) Nothing in Article 66(8) of the [1989 NI 12.] Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 shall require financial investigators to have regard in exercising the powers conferred by this Schedule to any provision of a code under that Order.