Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003

[F1 Penalty for breaching prohibition imposed by paragraph 1(2) E+W+N.I.

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 1 inserted (3.5.2015) by Serious Crime Act 2015 (c. 9), ss. 71(2), 88(4) (with s. 86(15))

2 (1) If anything is included in a publication in contravention of the prohibition imposed by paragraph 1(2), each of the persons responsible for the publication is guilty of an offence. E+W+N.I.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable—

(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to a fine;

(b) on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(3) The persons responsible for a publication are as follows—

Type of publication	Persons responsible
Newspaper or other periodical	Any person who is a proprietor, editor or publisher of the newspaper or periodical.
Relevant programme	Any person who— (a) is a body corporate engaged in providing the programme service in which the programme is included, or (b) has functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of an editor of a newspaper.
Any other kind of publication	Any person who publishes the publication.

(4) If an offence under this paragraph is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a) a senior officer of a body corporate, or

(b) a person purporting to act in such a capacity,

the senior officer or person (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(5) “ Senior officer ”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; and for this purpose “ director ”, in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of the body corporate.

(6) Proceedings for an offence under this paragraph—

(a) if alleged to have been committed in England and Wales, may not be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Attorney General;

(b) if alleged to have been committed in Northern Ireland, may not be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.]