Electoral Reform Act 2022

• Permanent Page URL

Prosecution of offences

169. (1) Subject to subsection (2), summary proceedings for an offence under this Part may be brought and prosecuted by the Commission.

(2) Proceedings for an offence under this Part shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(3) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under this Part may be instituted within 2 years from the date on which the offence was committed or alleged to have been committed.

(4) Where an offence under this Part is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any wilful neglect on the part of, any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (4) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

(6) (a) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Part, the court may, where it is satisfied that there are good reasons for so doing, order the person to pay to the prosecution the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by the prosecutor in relation to the investigation, detection and prosecution of the offence, including the costs and expenses of and incidental to an examination of any information provided to the Commission or an authorised officer.

(b) An order for costs and expenses referred to in paragraph (a) shall be in addition to and not instead of any fine or penalty the court may impose.