Communications Regulation Act, 2002
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Notice by Commission of intention to prosecute, etc. |
44.—(1) Where the Commission has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence under— | |
(a) any Regulations mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 1 , or | ||
(b) any other regulation made under the Act of 1972 which is declared in a regulation under that Act to be an offence to which this section applies, | ||
the Commission may give to the person or, where the person believed to have committed the offence is a company, to an officer of the company, a notice in the prescribed form stating that— | ||
(i) the person or company is alleged to have committed that offence, | ||
(ii) the person to whom the notice is delivered may during a period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice— | ||
(I) remedy as far as practicable to the satisfaction of the Commission any default that constitutes the offence, and | ||
(II) make to the Commission a payment of €1,000 accompanied by the notice, and | ||
(iii) a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is delivered in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the default is remedied to the satisfaction of the Commission and the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted. | ||
(2) Where a notice is given under subsection (1)— | ||
(a) a person to whom it applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the Commission the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice, | ||
(b) the Commission may receive the payment and issue a receipt for it, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it, and | ||
(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice and, if the default is remedied to the satisfaction of the Commission and the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted. | ||
(3) In a prosecution for an offence to which this section applies, the onus of showing that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant. | ||
(4) All payments made to the Commission in pursuance of this section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister for Finance may direct. | ||
(5) The Minister may by regulations vary the amount standing specified for the time being in subsection (1)(ii)(II). | ||
(6) Section 60 (other than subsection (1)(e)) applies to a notice given under this section. | ||
(7) In this section “company” means a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 2001. |