Civil Aviation Act 1971

36 Disclosure of information

(1) Subject to the following subsection, no information which relates to a particular person and has been furnished to the Authority or the Secretary of State in pursuance of any provision of this Part of this Act or an Air Navigation Order shall be disclosed by the Authority or a member or employee of the Authority or an officer of the Secretary of State unless—

(a) the person aforesaid has consented in writing to disclosure of the information ; or

(b) the Secretary of State, after affording that person an opportunity to make representations about the information and considering any representation then made by that person about it, determines that the information may be disclosed ; or

(c) the Secretary of State determines that the information is of the same kind as other information as respects which he has, after affording that person an opportunity of making representations about it in pursuance of the preceding paragraph, made a determination in pursuance of that paragraph.

(2) Nothing in the preceding subsection prohibits the disclosure of any information—

(a) by the Authority or a member or employee of the Authority to the Secretary of State or an officer of his or, with the consent of the Secretary of State, to an international organisation of which the United Kingdom is a member;

(b) by an officer of the Secretary of State to the Authority or a member or employee of the Authority or to such an organisation or, in accordance with directions given by the Secretary of State,—

(i) to an officer of any government department, or

(ii) in connection with negotiations conducted by officers of the Secretary of State with representatives of the government of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom, or

(iii) in connection with the discharge of any obligation of the United Kingdom under international arrangements;

(c) to a person to whom the information in question is required to be disclosed by regulations made in pursuance of section 5(2) of this Act;

(d) in pursuance of section 24(3) or (5) of this Act;

(e) with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal proceedings arising out of this Act or an Air Navigation Order or for the purposes of any investigation undertaken in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of section 10 of the [1949 c. 67.] Civil Aviation Act 1949 (which provides for the investigation of accidents connected with air navigation).

(3) If the Authority or a member or employee of the Authority or an officer of the Secretary of State discloses any information in contravention of subsection (1) of this section, it or he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding £400 or on conviction on indictment to a fine or, except in the case of the Authority, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.