Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014

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PART 12

International Cooperation

Chapter 1

Interpretation and other matters

Interpretation (Part 12)

109. (1) In this Part—

“Agreement with Iceland and Norway” means the Agreement between the European Union and Iceland and Norway on the application of certain provisions of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime and Council Decision 2008/616/JHA ⁴ on the implementation of Decision 2008/615/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime, and the Annex thereto, done at Stockholm on 26 November 2009 and at Brussels on 30 November 2009;

“authorised officer for dactyloscopic data” means the national contact point in relation to dactyloscopic data and any person who is appointed to be an authorised officer for dactyloscopic data under section 126 (2);

“authorised officer for DNA data” means the national contact point in relation to DNA data and any person who is appointed to be an authorised officer for DNA data under section 126 (1);

“automated fingerprint identification system” means—

(a) in the case of the State, the database system maintained by the Garda Síochána for the recording, storage and comparison of dactyloscopic data, and

(b) in the case of a designated state, the national automated fingerprint identification system by whatever name called established and kept by that designated state for the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences;

“Council Decision” means Council Decision 2008/615/JHA of 23 June 2008⁵ on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime;

“Council Framework Decision” means Council Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA of 30 November 2009 on Accreditation of forensic service providers carrying out laboratory activities;

“dactyloscopic data”, other than in Chapter 8, means fingerprint images, images of fingerprint latents, palm prints, palm print latents and templates of such images (coded minutiae), when they are stored and dealt with in an automated database;

“DNA analysis files”, in relation to a designated state, means the national DNA analysis files by whatever name called established and kept by that designated state for the investigation of criminal offences;

“designated state” means a Member State, Iceland, Norway or any other state designated under section 110 ;

“European Union or international instrument” means any of the following European Union or international instruments or agreements, or provisions thereof, between the State and other states or another state insofar as they concern cooperation in relation to—

(a) automated searching for or automated comparison of DNA data or automated searching for dactyloscopic data, as the case may be, and

(b) the exchange of such data and the reference data relating to them,

by or between authorities which are responsible for the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences in the State and those other states or that other state, as the case may be:

(i) the Council Decision and the Implementing Council Decision;

(ii) the Agreement with Iceland and Norway;

(iii) a bilateral agreement between the State and a designated state, or a multilateral agreement between the State and other designated states, for that purpose; and

(iv) any reservation or declaration made in accordance with such an instrument or agreement;

“Head”, in relation to the Technical Bureau of the Garda Síochána, means the member of the Garda Síochána of the rank of chief superintendent, or of another rank, who is for the time being in charge of the Technical Bureau of the Garda Síochána;

“Implementing Council Decision” means Council Decision 2008/616/JHA of 23 June 2008⁶ on the implementation of Decision 2008/615/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Union (other than the State);

“national contact point”, in relation to a relevant European Union or international instrument, means—

(a) in the case of the State—

(i) the person referred to in section 112 in relation to DNA data, or

(ii) the person referred to in section 117 in relation to dactyloscopic data,

and

(b) in the case of a designated state, the authority or person designated by that designated state as its national contact point—

(i) in relation to DNA data, or

(ii) in relation to dactyloscopic data,

as the context requires;

“note” means the marking on a DNA profile in the DNA Database System indicating that there has already been a match for that DNA profile in a search and comparison under section 113 , 114 , 115 or 116 ;

“reference data”, subject to subsection (2), means—

(a) in relation to a DNA profile of a person, the DNA profile of the person and a reference number but not any data from which the person can be directly identified, and

(b) in relation to dactyloscopic data, dactyloscopic data and a reference number but not any data from which the subject of the data can be directly identified;

“relevant European Union or international instrument” means the European Union or international instrument in accordance with which automated searching for or automated comparison of DNA data or automated searching for dactyloscopic data, as the case may be, and the exchange of such data and the reference data relating to them, is being or is to be conducted;

“state”, in relation to a state other than the State, includes a territory, whether in the state or outside it—

(a) for whose external relations the state or its government is wholly or partly responsible, and

(b) to which the relevant European Union or international instrument applies or whose law provides for cooperation in relation to automated searching for or automated comparison of DNA data or automated searching for dactyloscopic data, as the case may be, and the exchange of such data and the reference data relating to them, and “designated state” and “Member State” shall be construed accordingly;

“Technical Bureau of the Garda Síochána” means the national unit of the Garda Síochána known as the Technical Bureau of the Garda Síochána;

“unidentified DNA profile” means a DNA profile obtained from traces collected during the investigation of criminal offences and belonging to a person not yet identified.

(2) Reference data in relation to DNA profiles, or dactyloscopic data, which are unidentified and not attributed to any person shall indicate that they are unidentified and not attributed to any person.

(3) A word or expression that is used in this Part and also in a relevant European Union or international instrument or the Council Framework Decision has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Part as it has in the relevant European Union or international instrument or the Council Framework Decision, as the case may be.

(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of a European Union or international instrument.

(5) The text of the Council Decision in the English language is for convenience of reference set out in Schedule 2 .

(6) The text of the Agreement with Iceland and Norway in the English language is for convenience of reference set out in Schedule 3 .

(7) The text of the Council Framework Decision in the English language is for convenience of reference set out in Schedule 4 .

⁴O.J. No. L353, 31.12.2009, p.3.

⁵O.J. No. L210, 6.8.2008, p.1.

⁶O.J. No. L210, 6.8.2008, p.12.