The Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2023

Supply of date of birth lists to police and pursuant to a court order

4.—(1) The Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010(1) is amended as follows.

(2) After Article 6 insert—

“Supply of date of birth lists to police and pursuant to a court order

6A.   Schedule 2A to this Order (supply of date of birth lists to police and pursuant to a court order) has effect.”.

(3) After Schedule 2 insert—

Article 6A

“SCHEDULE 2A Supply of date of birth lists to police and pursuant to a court order

Interpretation

1.— (1) In this Schedule, “date of birth list” means a list prepared under rule 16B(1) of the Local Elections Rules (lists of electors’ and proxies’ dates of birth)(2) and includes any part of such a list.

(2) Any duty imposed by this Schedule on the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to supply a date of birth list imposes only a duty to provide the list in the form in which the Chief Electoral Officer holds it.

Supply of date of birth lists to police forces and restrictions on use

2.— (1) The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland must, on receipt of a written request from a police force for a date of birth list—

(a) if the request was for a copy of a date of birth list in printed form, provide the police force with a printed copy of the list specified in the request;

(b) if the request was for a date of birth list in data form, provide the police force with the data form of the list specified in the request.

(2) No person serving whether as a constable, officer or employee in a police force may—

(a) supply a date of birth list, or a copy of such a list, to any person,

(b) disclose any information contained in a date of birth list, or

(c) make use of any such information,

otherwise than for the purpose of the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal law (whether in Northern Ireland or elsewhere).

(3) The restrictions in sub-paragraph (2) apply to a person—

(a) to whom a date of birth list (or copy) has been supplied under that sub-paragraph, or

(b) to whom information in such a list has been disclosed under that sub-paragraph,

as they apply to the persons referred to in that sub-paragraph.

(4) In this paragraph—

(a) “police force” means—

(i) the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve,

(ii) a police force in Great Britain,

(iii) the National Crime Agency, or

(iv) any body of constables established under an Act of Parliament;

(b) the reference to an employee in a police force includes—

(i) any person working or providing services for the police force, and

(ii) any person employed by or on behalf of, or working for, a person referred to in paragraph (i).

Court orders for production of date of birth lists

3.— (1) The High Court, a county court or an election court may make an order for the inspection or production of a date of birth list, if satisfied by evidence on oath that the order is required for the purposes of—

(a) instituting or maintaining a prosecution in relation to an election, or

(b) an election petition.

(2) An order under sub-paragraph (1) may be made subject to conditions, including conditions relating to—

(a) the persons who may inspect the list or to whom the list may be produced,

(b) the time of inspection or production, and

(c) the place and mode of inspection or production.

(3) An appeal lies to the High Court from any order of a county court or an election court under sub-paragraph (1).

(4) A power to make an order under sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) in the case of a power of the High Court, may be exercised by any judge of the court otherwise than in open court, and

(b) in the case of a power of a county court, may be exercised in such manner as may be provided by rules of court.

(5) Where an order is made for the production of a date of birth list relating to a specified election, the production of the list in such manner as directed by the order is to be conclusive evidence that the list relates to the specified election.

(6) A third party who has inspected a date of birth list or to whom a date of birth list has been produced pursuant to an order under sub-paragraph (1) may not—

(a) supply the list, or a copy of it, to any person,

(b) disclose any information contained in it, or

(c) make use of any such information,

otherwise than for the purposes of the proceedings in relation to which the order was made.

(7) The restrictions in sub-paragraph (6) apply to a person—

(a) to whom a date of birth list (or copy) has been supplied under that sub-paragraph, or

(b) to whom information in such a list has been disclosed under that sub-paragraph,

as they apply to the third party to whom the list was first supplied.

(8) In this paragraph—

“election court” has the same meaning as in the 1962 Act (see section 72 of that Act);

“third party” means a person other than a person to whom the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland may delegate functions.

Offence of failure to comply with restrictions under paragraphs 2 and 3

4.— (1) A person is guilty of an offence—

(a) if they fail to comply with any of the restrictions imposed under paragraph 2 or 3, or

(b) if they are an appropriate supervisor of a person (P) who fails to comply with any of those restrictions and they failed to take appropriate steps.

(2) P is not guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (1) if—

(a) P has an appropriate supervisor, and

(b) P has complied with all the requirements imposed on P by the appropriate supervisor.

(3) A person who is not P or an appropriate supervisor is not guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (1) if they take all reasonable steps to ensure that they comply with the restrictions.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) an appropriate supervisor is a person who is a director of a company or concerned in the management of an organisation in which P is employed or under whose direction or control P is;

(b) appropriate steps are such steps as it was reasonable for the appropriate supervisor to take to secure the operation of procedures designed to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, the occurrence of a failure to comply with the restrictions.

(5) A person guilty of an offence as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.”.

(1)

S.I. 2010/2977.

(2)

Rule 16B was inserted by paragraph 9 of Schedule 6 to the Elections Act 2022 (c. 37).