Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act 2021
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Evidence in proceedings under Act | ||
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18. (1) In any proceedings relating to an offence under this Act— | ||
(a) a certificate that is signed by an officer of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and stating that a passport was issued by that Minister of the Government to a person on a specified date, and | ||
(b) a certificate that is signed by an officer of the Minister and stating that, to the best of the officer’s knowledge and belief, the person has not ceased to be an Irish citizen, | ||
shall be evidence that the person was an Irish citizen on the date on which the offence concerned is alleged to have been committed, unless the contrary is shown. | ||
(2) In any proceedings for an offence under section 7 or subsections (4) to (6) of section 8 , a certificate— | ||
(a) purporting to be signed by a lawyer practising in the designated state concerned, and | ||
(b) stating that the entry into, transit across or presence in the designated state to which the offence relates is in breach of an immigration law in that designated state, | ||
is evidence of the matters referred to in that certificate, unless the contrary is shown. | ||
(3) A certificate referred to in subsection (2) is taken to have been signed by the person purporting to have signed it, unless the contrary is shown. | ||
(4) In a case where a certificate referred to in subsection (2) is written in a language other than the Irish language or the English language, unless the contrary is shown— | ||
(a) a document purporting to be a translation of that certificate into the Irish language or the English language, as the case may be, and that is certified as correct by a person appearing to be competent to so certify, is taken— | ||
(i) to be a correct translation of the certificate, and | ||
(ii) to have been certified by the person purporting to have certified it, | ||
and | ||
(b) the person is taken to be competent to so certify. | ||
(5) A document purporting to be a certificate signed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs stating that— | ||
(a) in exercise of the powers conferred on him or her by section 12 (3) or (4), he or she has given his or her authority in accordance with the subsection concerned, or | ||
(b) in exercise of the powers conferred on him or her by section 13 , he or she has authorised a Protocol state to exercise the powers referred to in that section, | ||
is evidence of the facts stated in the certificate, unless the contrary is shown. | ||
(6) If, in any proceedings relating to an offence under this Act, a question arises as to whether a state was at a particular time a designated state, a certificate signed by, or by a person authorised by, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and stating any fact relating to the question shall be evidence of that fact, unless the contrary is shown. | ||
(7) In any proceedings for an offence under section 7 committed in the circumstances referred to in section 7 (4)(g), or an offence under section 8 committed in the circumstances referred to in section 8 (7)(f), a certificate purporting to be signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and stating any of the matters referred to in section 7 (4)(g) or section 8 (7)(f), as the case may be, is evidence of those matters, and is taken to have been signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, unless the contrary is shown. |