Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Act, 1997
|
Power of committees to obtain evidence. |
3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a committee may with (if, immediately before the giving of the direction concerned, the appropriate subcommittee stands appointed) the consent of the appropriate subcommittee— | |
(a) direct in writing any person whose evidence is required by the committee to attend before the committee on a date and at a time and place specified in the direction and there to give evidence and to produce any document in his or her possession or power specified in the direction, | ||
(b) direct a person in attendance before the committee pursuant to paragraph (a) to produce to the committee any document in his or her possession or power specified in the direction, | ||
(c) direct in writing any person to send to the committee any document in his or her possession or power specified in the direction, | ||
(d) direct in writing any person to make discovery on oath of any documents that are or have been in that person's possession or power relating to any matter relevant to the proceedings of the committee and to specify in the affidavit of documents concerned any documents mentioned therein which he or she 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 for the purpose of the proceedings concerned that appear to the committee to be reasonable and just. | ||
(2) The reasonable expenses of a person who— | ||
(a) pursuant to a direction, attends before a committee, or | ||
(b) pursuant to subsection (1) of section 10 , appears before a committee or gives evidence to a committee that the committee considers was, in the interests of justice, necessary or expedient for any of the purposes specified in the said subsection (1), | ||
shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. | ||
(3) (a) A direction in writing shall be signed by the chairman of the committee concerned or by another member of the committee duly authorised in that behalf by such chairman. | ||
(b) Any other direction shall be given by the chairman of the committee concerned or by another member of the committee who is acting as chairman thereof. | ||
(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to the President or an officer of the President or a judge of the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court, the District Court or the Special Criminal Court. | ||
(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to the Attorney General or an officer of the Attorney General except— | ||
(a) where the committee concerned is the Committee of Public Accounts, and | ||
(b) in so far as that subsection relates to evidence, or a document in his or her possession or power, concerning the general administration of the office of the Attorney General. | ||
(6) Subsection (1) does not apply to the Director of Public Prosecutions or an officer of the Director of Public Prosecutions except— | ||
(a) where the committee concerned is the Committee of Public Accounts, and | ||
(b) in so far as the subsection relates to evidence, or a document in his or her possession or power, concerning— | ||
(i) the general administration of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or | ||
(ii) statistics relevant to a matter referred to in a report of and published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to the activities generally of the office aforesaid. | ||
(7) Where a person disobeys a direction, the High Court may, on application to it in a summary manner in that behalf by the chairman of the committee concerned on behalf of 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. | ||
(8) A person who— | ||
(a) having been directed under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) to attend before a committee and having had tendered to him or her any sum in respect of the expenses of his or her attendance before the committee which a witness summoned to attend before the High Court would be entitled to have tendered to him or her, without just cause or excuse, disobeys the direction, | ||
(b) being in attendance before a committee pursuant to a direction under the said paragraph (a), refuses to take the oath on being required by the committee 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 proceedings before a 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. | ||
(9) (a) A consent of the appropriate subcommittee under subsection (1) (“a consent”) shall be in writing and the document containing it shall be signed by the chairman of the subcommittee or by another member of the subcommittee duly authorised in that behalf by such chairman. | ||
(b) A consent shall relate to a specified committee and specified functions of that committee and may relate, as may be specified in the consent, to one or more specified directions or classes of directions, or all directions, in relation to a specified person or matter or persons or matters generally and shall be subject to such restrictions, limitations or other conditions (if any) as may be specified in the consent. | ||
(c) A document— | ||
(i) produced at a meeting of a committee by the chairman of the committee or another member of the committee who is acting as chairman thereof, or | ||
(ii) produced in a court by the chairman of a committee or another member of the committee duly authorised in that behalf by such chairman, | ||
and purporting to comply with paragraph (a) and to contain a consent relating to that committee shall, unless the contrary is shown, be evidence— | ||
(I) of the consent and that it relates to that committee, to the functions of that committee specified in the consent and to the directions or classes of directions so specified and that those directions or classes of directions relate to the persons or matters so specified, and | ||
(II) of any restrictions, limitations or other conditions so specified to which the consent is subject. | ||
(10) If a person gives false evidence before a committee 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 that offence. | ||
(11) In this section— | ||
(a) a reference to the President, the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions or a judge of the Supreme Court, the High Court, the Circuit Court, the District Court or the Special Criminal Court is a reference to a person who holds or held that office in his or her capacity as such holder, and | ||
(b) a reference to an officer, in relation to the President, the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions, is a reference to a person who is or was an officer of the President, the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions in his or her capacity as such an officer, and includes a reference to a person who provides or provided professional legal services to the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions under a contract for services in his or her capacity as such a provider. |