Commission To Inquire Into Child Abuse Act, 2000
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Powers of Investigation Committee. |
14.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the chairperson of the Investigation Committee (“the Committee”) may for the purposes of the functions of the Committee- | |
(a) direct in writing any person whose evidence is required by the Committee to attend before it on a date and at a time and place specified in the direction and there to give evidence and to produce any document specified in the direction in the possession or control of the person, | ||
(b) direct a person in attendance before the Committee pursuant to paragraph (a) to produce to the Committee any document specified in the direction in the possession or control of the person, | ||
(c) direct in writing any person to send to the Committee any document specified in the direction in the possession or control of the person, | ||
(d) direct in writing any person to make discovery on oath of any documents that are or have been in the possession or control of the person relating to any matter relevant to the functions of the Committee and to specify in the affidavit of documents concerned any documents mentioned therein which the person objects to produce to the Committee and the grounds for the objection; and the rules of court relating to the discovery of documents in proceedings in the High Court shall apply in relation to the discovery of documents pursuant to this paragraph with any necessary modifications, | ||
(e) give any other directions that appear to the Committee to be reasonable, just and necessary. | ||
(2) A direction in writing shall be signed by the chairperson of the Committee. | ||
(3) Where a person fails or refuses to comply with or disobeys a direction, the High Court may, on application to it in a summary manner in that behalf by the Committee, order the person to comply with the direction and make such other (if any) order as it considers necessary and just to enable the direction to have full effect. | ||
(4) A person who— | ||
(a) having been directed under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) to attend before the Committee and having had tendered to him or her an amount determined in accordance with a scheme under section 20 in respect of the expenses of his or her attendance before the Committee, without just cause or excuse, fails or refuses to comply with or disobeys the direction, | ||
(b) being in attendance before the Committee pursuant to a direction under the said paragraph (a), refuses to take the oath on being required by the Committee pursuant to section 22 to do so or refuses to answer any question to which the Committee may legally require an answer, | ||
(c) without just cause or excuse, disobeys a direction under paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subsection (1), | ||
(d) in relation to the discovery of documents pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection (1), contravenes a rule of court referred to in that paragraph, or | ||
(e) does any other thing in relation to the matters before the Committee which, if done in relation to proceedings before a court by a witness in the court or any other person, would be contempt of that court, | ||
shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(5) The Committee may, for sufficient reason if it considers it appropriate to do so, arrange for the examination of a person at any place in or outside the State by a member of the Committee, a member of the staff of the Commission or any other person and may receive, in such form as it may determine, the evidence of the person taken at the examination; and the relevant rules of court relating to evidence in proceedings in the High Court shall apply in relation to the matters aforesaid with any necessary modifications. | ||
(6) In relation to the matters specified in subsection (1) and, in so far as they relate to the Committee, subsection (5), the Committee shall have all such powers, rights and privileges as are vested in the High Court or a judge of that Court on the occasion of an action and, in relation to the matters specified in subsection (5), in so far as they relate to a person conducting an examination pursuant to that subsection, that person shall have all the powers, rights and privileges aforesaid. | ||
(7) If a person gives false evidence before the Committee or to a person examining him or her pursuant to subsection (5) in such circumstances that, if the person had given the evidence before a court, the person would be guilty of perjury, the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment thereof to the penalties applying to perjury. |