Standards in Public Office Act, 2001
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Admissibility of certain evidence. |
16.—(1) Notwithstanding subsection (8) of section 32 of the Principal Act— | |
(a) a person who gives evidence before a Committee or the Commission or to a person for the purposes of an examination by him or her pursuant to subsection (4A) of that section shall not be entitled to refuse to answer any question put to him or her, and | ||
(b) a person shall not be entitled to refuse to produce or send a document pursuant to a direction, | ||
on the ground that his or her answer or the document might incriminate him or her. | ||
(2) A statement or admission made by a person— | ||
(a) before a Committee or the Commission, | ||
(b) to a person conducting an examination of him or her pursuant to section 32(4A) of the Principal Act, | ||
(c) to an inquiry officer, or | ||
(d) in a document prepared for and sent by a person to a person specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or to a member of a Committee or the Commission, or a member of the staff of a Committee or the Commission, for the purposes of the functions of the Committee or the Commission, as the case may be, | ||
shall not be admissible as evidence against the person, or any person who may be liable for the acts or omissions of the person, in any criminal proceedings (other than proceedings in relation to an offence under subsection (4) or (5) of section 32 of the Principal Act, or section 17 ), or in any civil proceedings in a court or other tribunal. |