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PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2001

Type Act
Publication 2001-07-09
Last updated 2018-07-30
State Repealed
Text Latest available text
Source Irish Statute Book
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articles 14

This is the most recent text the official source publishes. It is not a snapshot of the law as it stood on the date of each change.

10 amending acts · 2018-07-30, revised-IE-2001-act-27@2018-07-30

Act to give effect to the Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K 3(2)(c) of the Treaty on European Union on the Fight Against Corruption involving Officials of the European Communities or Officials of Member States of the European Union done at Brussels on the 26th day of May, 1997, the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions drawn up under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and adopted at Paris on the 21st day of November, 1997, and the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption drawn up under the auspices of the Council of Europe and done at Strasbourg on the 27th day of January, 1999, and for that purpose to amend certain enactments and to provide for related matters

Reform history JSON API

AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION DRAWN UP ON THE BASIS OF ARTICLE K 3(2)(c) OF THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION ON THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION INVOLVING OFFICIALS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES OR OFFICIALS OF MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION DONE AT BRUSSELS ON THE 26th DAY OF MAY, 1997, THE CONVENTION ON COMBATING BRIBERY OF FOREIGN PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS DRAWN UP UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTED AT PARIS ON THE 21st DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1997, AND THE CRIMINAL LAW CONVENTION ON CORRUPTION DRAWN UP UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND DONE AT STRASBOURG ON THE 27th DAY OF JANUARY, 1999, AND FOR THAT PURPOSE TO AMEND CERTAIN ENACTMENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [9th July, 2001]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1. Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act “the Act of 1906” means the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1906.

2. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1906.

2.—The Act of 1906 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 1:

“1.—(1) An agent or any other person who—

  • (a) corruptly accepts or obtains, or

  • (b) corruptly agrees to accept or attempts to obtain,

for himself or herself, or for any other person, any gift, consideration or advantage as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of, the agent doing any act or making any omission in relation to his or her office or position or his or her principal's affairs or business shall be guilty of an offence.

  • (2) A person who—

    • (a) corruptly gives or agrees to give, or

    • (b) corruptly offers,

    any gift or consideration to an agent or any other person, whether for the benefit of that agent, person or another person, as an inducement to, or reward for, or otherwise on account of, the agent doing any act or making any omission in relation to his or her office or position or his or her principal's affairs or business shall be guilty of an offence.

  • (3) A person who knowingly gives to any agent, or an agent who knowingly uses with intent to deceive his or her principal, any receipt, account or other document in respect of which the principal is interested, and which contains any statement which is false or erroneous or defective in any material particular, and which to his or her knowledge is intended to mislead the principal shall be guilty of an offence.

  • (4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

    • (a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £2,362.69 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

    • (b) on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.

  • (5) In this Act—

‘agent’ includes—

- (*a*) any person employed by or acting for another,

- (*b*) (i) an office holder or director (within the meaning, in each case, of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889, as amended) of, and a person occupying a position of employment in, a public body (within the meaning aforesaid) and a special adviser (within the meaning aforesaid),

    - (ii) a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann,

    - (iii) a person who is a member of the European Parliament by virtue of the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997,

    - (iv) an Attorney General (who is not a member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann),

    - (v) the Comptroller and Auditor General,

    - (vi) the Director of Public Prosecutions,

    - (vii) a judge of a court in the State,

    - (viii) any other person employed by or acting on behalf of the public administration of the State,

      and

- (*c*) (i) a member of the government of any other state,

    - (ii) a member of a parliament, regional or national, of any other state,

    - (iii) a member of the European Parliament (other than a person who is a member by virtue of the European Parliament Elections Act, 1997),

    - (iv) a member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities,

    - (v) a member of the Commission of the European Communities,

    - (vi) a public prosecutor in any other state,

    - (vii) a judge of a court in any other state,

    - (viii) a judge of any court established under an international agreement to which the State is a party,

    - (ix) a member of, or any other person employed by or acting for or on behalf of, any body established under an international agreement to which the State is a party, and

    - (x) any other person employed by or acting on behalf of the public administration of any other state;

      ‘consideration’ includes valuable consideration of any kind;

      ‘principal’ includes an employer.”.

2A. F1[Seizure of suspected bribe.

2A.—(1) A member of the Garda Síochána may seize any gift or consideration which the member suspects to be a gift or consideration within the meaning of section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, as amended by section 2 of this Act.

and

whichever later occurs.

2B. F2[ Forfeiture of bribe.

2B.—(1) A judge of the Circuit Court may order any gift or consideration which is detained under section 2A of this Act to be forfeited if satisfied, on application made by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that it is a gift or consideration referred to in section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, as amended by section 2 of this Act.

2C. F3[Application of sections 40, 41, 42 and 45 of Act of 1994 to certain property.

2C.—Sections 40 (appeal against forfeiture order), 41 (interest on cash detained), 42 (procedure) and 45 (disposal of forfeited cash) of the Act of 1994 shall apply in relation to cash and, as appropriate, to any other gift or consideration detained under section 2A, or forfeited under section 2B, of this Act as they apply in relation to cash detained or forfeited under section 38 or 39 of that Act.]

3. Presumption of corruption from failure to disclose political donations.

3.—(1) Where in any proceedings against a person to whom this section applies for an offence under the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889, as amended, or the Act of 1906, as amended, it is proved that—

the donation shall be deemed to have been given and received corruptly as an inducement to or reward for the person doing any act or making any omission in relation to his or her office or position or his or her principal’s affairs or business unless the contrary is proved.

“donation”

“donor” means the person who makes a donation or on whose behalf a donation is made.

4. Presumption of corruption.

4.—(1) Where in any proceedings against a person referred to in subsection (5)(b) of section 1 (inserted by section 2 of this Act) of the Act of 1906 for an offence under the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889, as amended, or the Act of 1906, as amended, it is proved that—

the gift or consideration or advantage shall be deemed to have been given and received corruptly as an inducement to or reward for the person performing or omitting to perform any of the functions aforesaid unless the contrary is proved.

“functions” includes powers and duties and references to the performance of functions includes as respects powers and duties references to the exercise of functions and the carrying out of duties;

“Minister” means a person who is a Minister of the Government or a Minister of State.

5. Search Warrant.

5.—F4[(1) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied by information on oath of a member of the Garda Síochána, or if a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent is satisfied, that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of or relating to the commission of an offence or suspected offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2001 punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or by a more severe penalty (‘an offence’) is to be found in any place, he or she may issue a warrant for the search of that place and any persons found at that place.]

6. Corruption occurring partially in State.

6.—A person may be tried in the State for an offence under the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889, or the Act of 1906, if any of the acts alleged to constitute the offence was committed in the State notwithstanding that other acts constituting the offence were committed outside the State.

7. Corruption occurring outside State.

7.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, where a person F5[ (whether or not the person is an agent)] does outside the State an act that, if done in the State, would constitute an offence under F6[the relevant section], he or she shall be guilty of an offence and he or she shall be liable on conviction to the penalty to which he or she would have been liable if he or she had done the act in the State.

‘agent’ has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5) of the relevant section;

‘ordinarily resident in the State’, in relation to an individual, means the individual has had his or her principal residence in the State for the period of 12 months immediately preceding the alleged commission of the offence concerned under subsection (1);

‘relevant agent’ means a person who falls within paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘agent’ in subsection (5) of the relevant section;

‘relevant section’ means section 1 (inserted by section 2 of this Act and as amended by section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2010) of the Act of 1906. ]

8. Corruption in office.

8.—(1) A public official who does any act in relation to his or her office or position for the purpose of corruptly obtaining a gift, consideration or advantage for himself, herself or any other person, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

“consideration” includes valuable consideration of any kind;

“public official” means a person referred to in subsection (5)(b) of section 1 (inserted by section 2 of this Act) of the Act of 1906.

8A. F7[ Protection for persons (including employees) reporting offences under Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010.

8A.— (1) A person who, apart from this section, would be so liable shall not be liable in damages in respect of the communication, whether in writing or otherwise, by the person to an appropriate person of his or her opinion that an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010 may have been or may be being committed unless—

or

or

or

shall, in a prosecution of the person under subsection (11), be evidence of the matters so stated without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

‘appropriate person’, in relation to a communication referred to in this section made by a person, means a communication to—

or

‘confidential recipient’ has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph 1 of Schedule 2;

‘contract of employment’ means a contract of employment or of service or of apprenticeship, whether the contract is express or implied and, if express, whether it is oral or in writing;

‘employee’ means a person who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment and references, in relation to an employer, to an employee shall be construed as references to an employee employed by that employer;

‘employer’, in relation to an employee, means the person with whom the employee has entered into or for whom the employee works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment, and includes—

‘penalisation’ means any act or omission by an employer, or by a person acting on behalf of an employer, that affects an employee to his or her detriment with respect to any term or condition of his or her employment, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes—

9. F9[ Offences — general.

9.— (1) Where an offence under the relevant Acts has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, a person who was either—

that person shall also be guilty of an offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished as if the person were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

whichever is the later, provided that no such proceedings shall be commenced later than 2 years from the date on which the offence concerned was committed.

10. Short title, collective citation and construction.

10.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001.

F10[SCHEDULE 1 REDRESS FOR CONTRAVENTION OF SECTION 8A(5)

Complaints to rights commissioner.

1. F11[In proceedings under Part 4 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in respect of a complaint of a contravention of section 8A(5), it shall not be necessary for the employee to show that he or she has at least one year’s continuous service with the employer concerned.]

2.

F11[A decision of the Labour Court under section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, on appeal from a decision of an adjudication officer referred to in paragraph 1(3), shall affirm, vary or set aside the decision of the adjudication officer.]

Paragraphs 1 and 2: supplemental provisions.

3. (1) F12[…]

Enforcement of determinations of Labour Court.

4. F12[…]

Interpretation.

5. F12[…]]

F13[SCHEDULE 2 PROVISIONS APPLICABLE IN CASE OF COMMUNICATIONS REFERRED TO IN SECTION 8A MADE IN CONFIDENCE

Definitions.

1. In this Schedule—

‘alleged relevant offence’, in relation to a confidential communication, means the offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 2010 alleged in the communication;

‘appropriate person’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 8A(16);

‘civilian’ means a member of the civilian staff of the Garda Síochána;

‘Commissioner’ means—

‘confidential communication’ means a communication referred to in section 8A made to an appropriate person who is a confidential recipient;

‘confidential communicator’, in relation to a confidential communication, means the person who made the confidential communication;

‘confidential recipient’ means a person appointed under paragraph 2 to receive confidential communications;

‘member’ means—

Appointment of confidential recipients.

2. The Commissioner may appoint a member or civilian, or members or civilians, as a confidential recipient or recipients to receive confidential communications.

Confidential communication.

3. (1) Where a confidential communication has been made to a confidential recipient, the confidential communicator shall disclose to the recipient any document, record or information in his or her possession or control which relates to the alleged relevant offence.

Transmission of confidential communication.

4. Where a confidential communication has been made to a confidential recipient, the recipient shall, as soon as is practicable, transmit the communication to the Commissioner.

Commissioner, etc., must take steps to ensure that identity of confidential communicator is not disclosed.

5. Where a confidential communication has been transmitted to the Commissioner pursuant to paragraph 4, the Commissioner, and any person acting on his or her behalf, in examining the communication or investigating the alleged relevant offence, shall take all practicable steps to ensure that the identity of the confidential communicator is not disclosed.

Protection of confidential communicator’s identity.

6. (1) Where a confidential communication has been made to a confidential recipient, the recipient may disclose the identity of the confidential communicator to the Commissioner only if each one of the following provisions is complied with:

only where the Commissioner is satisfied that the disclosure is necessary for the proper examination of the communication or the investigation or prosecution of the alleged relevant offence.

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