Medicines Act 1968

68 Disqualification on conviction of certain offences. U.K.

(1) Where in proceedings brought by an enforcement authority a person is convicted of an offence under section 67(6) of this Act in respect of any premises used for carrying on a retail pharmacy business, then on the application of that authority the court by or before which he was convicted may (subject to the following provisions of this section) make an order disqualifying him from using those premises for the purposes of such a business for such period, not exceeding two years, as may be specified in the order.

(2) The court shall not make an order under this section disqualifying a person in respect of any premises unless the court thinks it expedient to do so having regard—

(a) to the gravity of the offence of which he has been convicted as mentioned in the preceding subsection, or

(b) to the unsatisfactory nature of the premises, or

(c) to any offences under section 67(6) of this Act of which he has previously been convicted.

(3) No order under this section shall be made against a person on the application of an enforcement authority unless the authority have, not less than fourteen days before the date of the hearing, given him notice in writing of their intention to apply for such an order to be made against him.

(4) If, while an order under this section disqualifying a person in respect of any premises is in force, the premises are used for the purposes of a retail pharmacy business carried on by him, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F1 level 5 on the standard scale].

(5) Subject to the next following subsection, at any time after the end of the period of six months from the date on which an order under this section comes into force, the person to whom the order relates may apply to the court by which the order was made to revoke the order or to vary it by reducing the period of disqualification.

(6) On any application made under subsection (5) of this section the court may revoke or vary the order as mentioned in that subsection if it thinks it proper to do so having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including in particular the conduct of the applicant and any improvement in the state of the premises to which the order relates; but, if on any such application the court refuses to revoke or vary the order, no further application made by the applicant under that subsection shall be entertained if it is made within three months from the date of the refusal.

(7) The court to which an application under subsection (5) of this section is made shall have power to order the applicant to pay the whole or any part of the costs of the application.

(8) In the application of this section to Scotland, for references to an enforcement authority and to costs there shall be substituted respectively references to the procurator fiscal and to expenses.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c.48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46, (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c.21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G and (N.I.) S.I. 1984/703 (N.I. 3), arts. 5, 6

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 68 applied (1.1.1995) by S.I. 1994/3142, reg. 18(2)