Medicines Act 1968

47 Standard provisions for licences or certificates

(1) The Ministers may by regulations prescribe standard provisions for the purposes of this Part of this Act, either generally or in relation to any class of medicinal products specified in the regulations.

(2) Any standard provisions so prescribed may be incorporated by the licensing authority in any licence under this Part of this Act or any clinical trial certificate or animal test certificate granted or issued on or after the date on which the regulations come into operation, and may be so incorporated with or without modifications and either generally or in relation to medicinal products of any particular class.

(3) The following provisions of this section shall have effect where—

(a) standard provisions are prescribed by regulations made under this section, or

(b) after any such provisions have been so prescribed, they are amended by, or superseded by new standard provisions prescribed by, subsequent regulations so made ;

and in the following provisions of this section, in a case falling within paragraph (a) but not within paragraph (b) of this subsection, " the operative standard provisions " means the standard provisions prescribed by the regulations and " the relevant regulations " means those regulations, and, in any other case, " the operative standard provisions " means the standard provisions as amended by the subsequent regulations or the new standard provisions prescribed by those regulations, as the case may be, and " the relevant regulations " means the subsequent regulations.

(4) Subject to the following provisions of this section, as from the end of the period of three months from the date on which the relevant regulations come into operation, the operative standard provisions shall be deemed to be incorporated in any licence under this Part of this Act, or any clinical trial certificate or animal test certificate, which is in force at the end of that period or, in the case of a suspended licence or certificate, would then be in force if it were not suspended, in so far as, in accordance with the relevant regulations, the operative standard provisions are applicable to medicinal products of any description to which that licence or certificate relates.

(5) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (4) of this section, the operative standard provisions shall not by virtue of that subsection be deemed to be incorporated in any licence of right, or in any certificate issued in pursuance of section 37(4) of this Act, including any such licence or certificate which has been renewed, except in circumstances where, immediately before the first appointed day, the manufacture or importation of substances or articles to which the licence or certificate relates was authorised by a licence issued under Part I of the [1956 c. 25.] Therapeutic Substances Act 1956 or under Part II of the [1950 c. 36.] Diseases of Animals Act 1950, or of the [1958 c. 13 (N.I.).] Diseases of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1958, and, where those circumstances exist, shall be deemed to be so incorporated only in relation to substances or articles to which the licence so issued was applicable.

(6) At any time after the relevant regulations are made and before the end of the period of three months from the date on which they come into operation, the holder of any licence or certificate may apply to the licensing authority to direct—

(a) that the operative standard provisions shall not be deemed to be incorporated in that licence or certificate, or

(b) that the operative standard provisions shall be deemed to be so incorporated subject to such exceptions or modifications as may be specified in the application ;

and if, on any such application, the licensing authority direct that the operative standard provisions shall not be deemed to be so incorporated, or shall be deemed to be so incorporated subject to exceptions and modifications specified in the direction, with or without provision postponing the date as from which they are to be deemed to be so incorporated, that direction shall have effect notwithstanding anything in subsection (4) of this section.

(7) Where an application is made to the licensing authority tinder subsection (6) of this section, then, if the licensing authority propose to refuse to give a direction in accordance with the application, the licensing authority, before determining the application, shall afford to the applicant an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed for the purpose by the licensing authority, or of making representations in writing to the licensing authority with respect to that proposal; and, if the licensing authority then determine to refuse to give a direction in accordance with the application, they shall serve on the applicant a notice stating the reasons for their decision.

(8) Without prejudice to any direction given under subsection (6) of this section, where such an application is made—

(a) the operative standard provisions shall not be deemed to be incorporated in the licence or certificate to which the application relates before the licensing authority have made a decision on that application, and

(b) if an application under section 107 of this Act is made with respect to that decision, those provisions shall not be deemed to have been or to be so incorporated before the application under subsection (6) of this section has been finally disposed of ;

and so much of subsection (7) of section 27 of this Act as relates to the time when an application is to be taken to be finally disposed of shall have effect for the purposes of this subsection as it has effect for the purposes of that section.

(9) The powers conferred on the licensing authority by the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act to vary the provisions of a licence or certificate shall be exercisable with respect to any provisions which, in accordance with this section, are incorporated or deemed to be incorporated in a licence or certificate.