Public Safety Act, 1927
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Power to suppress certain periodicals. |
10.—(1) A Judge of the High Court, on the application in a summary manner of the Minister for Justice and on being satisfied that a periodical published or printed in Saorstát Eireann has published in an issue published after the passing of this Act and not more than one month before the date of the application, any seditious libel or any statement inciting or calculated to incite, encourage, or lead to the commission of any of the offences mentioned in Part I. of the Schedule to this Act or any offence of a seditious or treasonable nature or any statement by or on behalf of or emanating from or purporting to be made by or on behalf of or to emanate from an unlawful association or any statement aiding or abetting or calculated to aid or abet an unlawful association, may make an order declaring the said Minister to be at liberty to suppress such periodical under this section. | |
(2) Whenever a Judge of the High Court so declares the Minister for Justice to be at liberty to suppress a periodical the said Minister may within one month after the date of the order of such Judge by order suppress such periodical. | ||
(3) Whenever the Minister for Justice by an order under this section suppresses a periodical he may at any time thereafter by order suppress any other periodical published or printed in Saorstát Eireann which was first published after the date of the application to a Judge of the High Court for liberty to suppress such first-mentioned periodical and which though differing in name or otherwise is in the opinion of the said Minister substantially the same as such first-mentioned periodical. | ||
(4) Whenever the Minister for Justice, by an order under this section, suppresses a periodical, it shall not be lawful after the date of such order to print or publish the said periodical or any issue or copy thereof, or to distribute, sell, or offer or expose for sale the said periodical, or any issue or copy thereof, whether such issue or copy was printed before or after the date of such order, and every person who shall print, publish, distribute, sell or offer or expose for sale such periodical or any issue or copy thereof in contravention of this sub-section shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and also in any case to forfeiture of every copy of such periodical in his possession, and also, in the case of a person found guilty of the offence of printing such periodical, to forfeiture of all printing machinery in his possession. | ||
(5) Every application under this section by the Minister for Justice to a Judge of the High Court for liberty to suppress a periodical shall be made on notice (which may be served on a person outside Saorstát Eireann without special leave) to the printer, the proprietor, and the publisher of the periodical, unless a Judge of the High Court shall otherwise direct. | ||
(6) No appeal shall lie from an order of a Judge of the High Court on an application under this section by the Minister for Justice for liberty to suppress a periodical. |