S.I. No. 416/2003 - Criminal Justice Act 1994 (Section 32) (Amendment) Regulations 2003

I, Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 32(10)(a) and section 32(10A) (inserted by section 2 (b) of the Disclosure of Certain Information for Taxation and Other Purposes Act 1996 (No. 25 of 1996)) of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 (No. 15 of 1994) (as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 1997 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1997 )) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive 2001/97/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2001¹ , and following consultation with the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following regulations:

1.       (1)      These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 1994 (Section 32 (Amendment) Regulations 2003.

(2)      These Regulations shall come into operation on 15 September 2003.

2.       In these Regulations the “Principal Regulations” mean the Criminal Justice Act 1994 (Section 32) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 242 of 2003 ).

3.       The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution of the following regulation for regulation 4:

“4.      (1)        Section 57 of the Criminal Justice Act 1994 (No. 15 of 1994) shall not apply to a person who carries on in the State the profession of accountant, auditor solicitor or tax adviser insofar as he or she receives or obtains information from or relating to a client -

(a)       in the course of ascertaining the legal position for that client,

(b)       when performing the task of defending or representing that client in or concerning judicial proceedings, or

(c)       when advising that client in relation to instituting or avoiding judicial proceedings.

(2)       Subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (1) apply in relation to information received or obtained before, in the course of or after the conclusion of proceedings referred to in that paragraph.

(3)       In this section ‘client’ in relation to an accountant, shall not include a person who employs that accountant under a contract of service.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not a part of the Regulation and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations amend the Criminal Justice Act 1994 (Section 32) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 242 of 2003 ) by substituting an amended version of Regulation 4 for the version contained in S.I. No. 242 of 2003 .

¹ OJ No. L344 of 28.12.2001, p.76.