Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017

Search warrant

7. (1) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied by information on oath of a member that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of, or relating to, the commission of a relevant offence is to be found in any place, the judge may issue a warrant for the search of that place and any persons found at that place.

(2) A search warrant under this section shall be expressed, and shall operate, to authorise a named member, accompanied by such other members or persons or both as the member thinks necessary—

(a) to enter, at any time within one week of the date of issue of the warrant, on production if so requested of the warrant, and if necessary by the use of reasonable force, the place named in the warrant,

(b) to search it and any persons found at that place, and

(c) to examine, seize and retain anything found at that place, or anything found in possession of a person present at that place at the time of the search, that that member reasonably believes to be evidence of, or relating to, the commission of a relevant offence.

(3) The authority conferred by subsection (2)(c) to seize and retain anything includes, in the case of a document or record, authority—

(a) to make and retain a copy of the document or record, and

(b) where necessary, to seize and, for long as is necessary, retain any computer in which any record is kept.

(4) A member acting under the authority of a search warrant under this section may—

(a) operate any computer at the place that is being searched or cause any such computer to be operated by a person accompanying the member for that purpose, and

(b) require any person at that place who appears to the member to have lawful access to the information in any such computer—

(i) to give to the member any password necessary to operate it and any encryption key or code necessary to unencrypt the information accessible by the computer,

(ii) otherwise to enable the member to examine the information accessible by the computer in a form in which the information is visible and legible, or

(iii) to produce the information in a form in which it can be removed and in which it is, or can be made, visible and legible.

(5) A member acting under the authority of a search warrant under this section may, for the purpose of investigating the commission of a relevant offence,require any person at the place to which the search warrant relates to—

(a) give to the member his or her name and address, and

(b) provide such information to the member as he or she may reasonably require.

(6) The Police (Property) Act 1897 or, where appropriate, section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act 1951 shall apply to property which has come into the possession of the Garda Síochána under this section as that Act or such section 25, as the case may be, applies to property which has come into the possession of the Garda Síochána in the circumstances mentioned in that Act concerned.

(7) A person who—

(a) obstructs or attempts to obstruct a member acting under the authority of a search warrant under this section,

(b) fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (4)(b) or (5), or

(c) in relation to a requirement under subsection (5), gives a name and address or provides information which the member has reasonable cause for believing is false or misleading in a material respect,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) The power to issue a warrant under this section is without prejudice to any other power conferred by statute to issue a warrant for the search of any place or person.

(9) In this section—

“computer” includes a personal organiser or any other electronic means of information storage and retrieval;

“computer at the place that is being searched” includes any other computer, whether at the place being searched or at any other place, which is lawfully accessible by means of that computer;

“member” means a member of the Garda Síochána who falls within paragraph (a) of the definition of “member” in section 3 (1) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 .