Nuclear Safeguards and Electricity (Finance) Act 1978

2 Rights of Agency inspectors

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, for the purpose of—

(a) making any inspection permitted by articles 71 to 84; or

(b) verifying design information, as mentioned in article 50,

any person designated as an inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency under article 85 may enter any facility or part thereof and there make any inspection or do any other thing which may reasonably be required for that purpose.

(2) The powers conferred by subsection (1) above shall be exercisable only in the cases specified in, and subject to the provisions of, the Safeguards Agreement and, in particular,—

(a) shall be exercisable only in accordance with articles 5, 9(c) and 87 and the provisions of the Protocol which forms part of the Safeguards Agreement; and

(b) where article 83 applies, shall not be exercisable unless any advance notice required by that article has been given.

(3) In the following provisions (which restrict rights of entry to certain prohibited places which belong to or are used for the purposes of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority or which are sites of nuclear installations) namely—

(a) subsection (3) of section 6 of the [1954 c. 32.] Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954; and

(b) sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the [1965 c. 57.] Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (as inserted into that Act by the [1971 c. 11.] Atomic Energy Authority Act 1971),

at the end of paragraph (b) there shall be added the words “or

(bb) a person designated as an inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency under article 85 of the Agreement made on 6th September 1976 for the application of Safeguards in the United Kingdom in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Cmnd. 6730)”.

(4) Any person who—

(a) intentionally obstructs any person exercising a power conferred by subsection (1) above; or

(b) without reasonable excuse refuses or fails to provide any information or to permit any inspection reasonably required by any such person; or

(c) without reasonable excuse refuses or fails to carry out in a facility any operation which he is requested to carry out by a person designated as mentioned in subsection (1) above,

shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(5) If any person in giving any information reasonably required by any person exercising a power conferred by subsection (1) above makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular he shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and

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

(6) In this section " the statutory maximum " means—

(a) in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 28 of the [1977 c. 45.] Criminal Law Act 1977 (at the passing of this Act £1,000); and

(b) in Scotland, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 289B of the [1975 c. 21.] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (at the passing of this Act £1,000);

and for the purposes of the application of this definition in Northern Ireland the provisions of the Criminal Law Act 1977 which relate to the sum mentioned in paragraph (a) above shall extend to Northern Ireland.

(7) In this section " facility " has the meaning assigned to it by article 92(2)I.