Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

[F1 195T Codes of practice: Department of Justice N.I.

(1) The Department of Justice must make a code of practice in connection with—

(a) the carrying out by constables and accredited financial investigators of the functions conferred by sections 195C to 195H,

(b) the carrying out by senior officers of their functions under section 195G, and

(c) the detention of property by—

(i) constables,

(ii) accredited financial investigators, and

(iii) members of staff of the relevant director (within the meaning of section 352(5A)(b)),

under or by virtue of sections 190A, 193A and 195J to 195P.

(2) In subsection (1)(b) senior officers means—

(a) police officers of at least the rank of inspector,

(b) accredited financial investigators who fall within a description specified in an order made for this purpose by the Secretary of State under section 453.

(3) Where the Department of Justice proposes to issue a code of practice the Department of Justice must—

(a) publish a draft,

(b) consider any representations made about the draft,

(c) if the Department of Justice thinks appropriate, modify the draft in the light of any such representations.

(4) The Department of Justice must lay a draft of the code before the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(5) When the Department of Justice has laid a draft of the code before the Assembly the Department of Justice may bring it into operation by order.

(6) Section 41(3) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 applies for the purposes of subsection (4) in relation to the laying of a draft as it applies in relation to the laying of a statutory document under an enactment.

(7) The Department of Justice may revise the whole or any part of the code and issue the code as revised; and subsections (3) to (6) apply to such a revised code as they apply to the original code.

(8) A failure by a person to comply with a provision of the code does not of itself make the person liable to criminal or civil proceedings.

(9) The code is admissible in evidence in criminal or civil proceedings and is to be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 195T inserted by 2009 c. 26, s. 57(2) (as amended (22.11.2014 for specified purposes in accordance with S.I. 2014/3101, art. 3) by The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/2595), arts. 1(2), 18(2)(m) (with arts. 24-28))