Defence Forces (Evidence) Act 2022
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Interpretation | ||
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2. (1) In this Act— | ||
“Act of 1954” means the Defence Act 1954; | ||
“Act of 2014” means the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014 ; | ||
“body”, in relation to a deceased human person (including a foetus or stillborn child), means the body or a part of the body of the person and includes the decomposed or cremated remains of the person; | ||
“conviction”, other than in section 65 (3), means a conviction by court-martial; | ||
“court”, other than in section 35 (2), includes a court-martial; | ||
“court-martial”, when used without qualification, means a general court-martial, a limited court-martial or a summary court-martial; | ||
“crime scene” shall be construed in accordance with section 27 (2); | ||
“crime scene (Military Police) index”, in relation to the DNA (Military Police) Database System, shall be construed in accordance with section 27 ; | ||
“crime scene sample”, other than in section 78 , means a sample of biological material found at, or recovered from, a crime scene from which a DNA profile in respect of a person may be generated; | ||
“Defence Forces” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1954; | ||
“Director of FSI” means the officer who is, for the time being, in charge of FSI; | ||
“Director of Military Prosecutions” means the person appointed, for the time being, under section 184C of the Act of 1954; | ||
“DNA” means deoxyribonucleic acid; | ||
“DNA Database System” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2014; | ||
“DNA (Military Police) Database System” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25 ; | ||
“DNA profile”, in relation to a person, means information comprising a set of identification characteristics of the non-coding part of DNA derived from an examination and analysis of a sample of biological material that is clearly identifiable as relating to the person and that is capable of comparison with similar information derived from an examination and analysis of another sample of biological material for the purpose of determining whether or not that other sample could relate to that person; | ||
“elimination (Military Police) index”, in relation to the DNA (Military Police) Database System, shall be construed in accordance with section 29 ; | ||
“enactment” means a statute or an instrument made under a power conferred by statute; | ||
“forensic testing”, in relation to a sample (other than in sections 78 and 79 ), means the examination and analysis of the sample and the carrying out of biochemical or other scientific tests and techniques used in connection with the detection and investigation of crime on the sample and, if appropriate, includes the generation of a DNA profile from the sample in respect of a person; | ||
“FSI” means Forensic Science Ireland of the Department of Justice and Equality; | ||
“inadequately labelled”, in relation to a sample, means incorrectly labelled or labelled in such a manner that it is not possible to identify with certainty the person from whom the sample was taken; | ||
“insufficient”, in relation to a sample, means, subject to section 4 (5), insufficient in quantity or quality for the purpose of enabling information to be produced by the means of analysis used or to be used in relation to the sample for the forensic testing of it; | ||
“intimate sample” means any of the following taken, or to be taken, from a person under section 10 : | ||
(a) a sample of— | ||
(i) blood, | ||
(ii) pubic hair, or | ||
(iii) urine; | ||
(b) a swab from a genital region or a body orifice other than the mouth; | ||
(c) a dental impression; | ||
“item of forensic evidence” means a sample, swab, specimen, impression or print obtained from a person under section 34 ; | ||
“match”, in relation to two DNA profiles, means that there is such a degree of correspondence between them that they are indistinguishable and it is probable that they relate to the same person, and the degree of that probability can be indicated statistically; | ||
“member of the Military Police” means a member of the Defence Forces appointed or transferred to the Military Police Corps; | ||
“member of the staff of FSI” means an officer of the Minister for Justice and Equality who is assigned to perform duties in FSI; | ||
“military installation” means a place or building (or portion thereof) occupied by, used by, or under the control (whether temporarily or otherwise) of the Defence Forces; | ||
“Minister” means the Minister for Defence; | ||
“non-coding part of DNA”, in relation to a person, means the chromosome regions of the person’s DNA that are not known to provide for any functional properties of the person; | ||
“non-intimate sample” means any of the following taken, or to be taken, from a person under section 11 : | ||
(a) a sample of— | ||
(i) saliva, | ||
(ii) hair other than pubic hair, | ||
(iii) a nail, or | ||
(iv) any material found under a nail; | ||
(b) a swab from any part of the body including the mouth but not from any other body orifice or a genital region; | ||
(c) a skin impression; | ||
“offence against military law” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1954; | ||
“prescribed”, other than in section 5 (4), means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under section 5 ; | ||
“provost marshal” means the person standing appointed, for the time being, under section 170 of the Act of 1954; | ||
“reference (Military Police) index”, in relation to the DNA (Military Police) Database System, shall be construed in accordance with section 28 ; | ||
“registered dentist” means a person whose name is entered for the time being in the Register of Dentists established under section 26 of the Dentists Act 1985 ; | ||
“registered medical practitioner” means a person who is a registered medical practitioner within the meaning of section 2 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 ; | ||
“registered nurse” means a person whose name is entered for the time being in the nurses division of the register of nurses and midwives established under section 46 of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 ; | ||
“relevant offence” means an offence, other than a scheduled offence within the meaning of section 176A of the Act of 1954, committed or alleged to have been committed by a person arrested pursuant to section 171 of that Act for which a person may be punished by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more; | ||
“sample”, other than in Part 6 , means a sample taken, or to be taken, from a person under Part 2 , 3 or 4 and, if the context so requires, a crime scene sample; | ||
“service custody” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1954; | ||
“skin impression”, in relation to a person, means any record (other than a fingerprint) which is a record (in any form and produced by any method) of the skin pattern and other physical characteristics or features of the whole or any part of his or her foot or of any other part of his or her body; | ||
“specified military installation” means a military installation specified by a member of the Military Police. | ||
(2) References in section 9 and in Part 3 or 4 to a sample, in relation to a person, means a sample of hair other than pubic hair of the person or a swab from the mouth of the person. | ||
(3) In this Act, references to the mouth of a person shall be construed as including references to the inside of the mouth of the person. | ||
(4) In this Act, references to a person subject to military law shall be construed in accordance with section 2 of the Act of 1954. |