OFFENCES AGAINST THE STATE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1972

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE OFFENCES AGAINST THE STATE ACTS, 1939 AND 1940. [3rd December, 1972]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1 Definition.

1.—In this Act “the Act of 1939” means the Offences against the State Act, 1939.

2 Power to question person found near place of commission of scheduled offence.

2.—Where a member of the Garda Síochána—

• (a) has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence which is for the time being a scheduled offence for the purposes of Part V of the Act of 1939 is being or was committed at any place,

• (b) has reasonable grounds for believing that any person whom he finds at or near the place at the time of the commission of the offence or soon afterwards knows, or knew at that time, of its commission, and

• (c) informs the person of his belief as aforesaid,

the member may demand of the person his name and address and an account of his recent movements and, if the person fails or refuses to give the information or gives information that is false or misleading, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

3 Evidence of membership of unlawful organisation.

3.—(1) (a) Any statement made orally, in writing or otherwise, or any conduct, by an accused person implying or leading to a reasonable inference that he was at a material time a member of an unlawful organisation shall, in proceedings under section 21 of the Act of 1939, be evidence that he was then such a member.

• (b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection “conduct” includes omission by the accused person to deny published reports that he was a member of an unlawful organisation, but the fact of such denial shall not by itself be conclusive.

• (2) Where an officer of the Garda Síochána, not below the rank of Chief Superintendent, in giving evidence in proceedings relating to an offence under the said section 21, states that he believes that the accused was at a material time a member of an unlawful organisation, the statement shall be evidence that he was then such a member.

• (3) Subsection (2) of this section shall be in force whenever and for so long only as Part V of the Act of 1939 is in force.

4 Statements, meetings etc., constituting interference with the course of justice.

4.—(1) (a) Any public statement made orally, in writing or otherwise, or any meeting, procession or demonstration in public, that constitutes an interference with the course of justice shall be unlawful.

• (b) A statement, meeting, procession or demonstration shall be deemed to constitute an interference with the course of justice if it is intended, or is of such a character as to be likely, directly or indirectly to influence any court, person or authority concerned with the institution, conduct or defence of any civil or criminal proceedings (including a party or witness) as to whether or how the proceedings should be instituted, conducted, continued or defended, or as to what should be their outcome.

• (2) A person who makes any statement, or who organises, holds or takes part in any meeting, procession or demonstration, that is unlawful under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

• (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment;

• (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

• (3) Nothing in this section shall affect the law as to contempt of court.

5 Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1939.

5.—The definition of “document” in section 2 of the Act of 1939 is hereby amended by the insertion after “advertisement” of the following:

“and also—

• (a) any map, plan, graph or drawing,

• (b) any photograph,

• (c) any disc, tape, sound track or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom, and

• (d) any film, microfilm, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied (whether with or without sounds or other data) so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of being reproduced therefrom and a reproduction or still reproduction of the image or images embodied therein whether enlarged or not and whether with or without sounds or other data”.

6 Short title, construction and collective citation.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Offences against the State (Amendment) Act, 1972.

• (2) The Offences against the State Acts, 1939 and 1940, and this Act shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Offences against the State Acts, 1939 to 1972.