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Material not publicly available that relates to security of the State
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29. (1) Where an appeal of a relevant vendor measure or a variation in such measure relates to or involves any decision, evidence, document, material or any other matter that is not publicly available and relates to the security of the State, (referred to in this Part as “relevant material”), the High Court may—
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(a) where it is satisfied by information on oath or affirmation of the Minister, or of an officer of the Minister appointed by the Minister to provide such information, that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the disclosure to an appellant of relevant material would create a risk to the security of the State—
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(i) where satisfied that the relevant material can be redacted in a way that removes that risk, direct the Minister to provide the relevant material to the appellant subject to such redactions, or
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(ii) where satisfied that the relevant material or part thereof can be summarised or described in a way that removes that risk, direct the Minister to provide the appellant with such a summary or description,
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(b) where it is not satisfied by the information on oath or affirmation referred to in paragraph (a) that the disclosure to a party of relevant material would create a risk to the security of the State, direct that the relevant material or such part of that material as the High Court may direct, be provided to the party, and
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(c) take relevant material into account in making its decision in relation to the appeal regardless of the extent to which, or ways in which, the relevant material is provided to the appellant in accordance with this section.
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(2) The Minister shall comply with a direction of the High Court under subsection (1).
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(3) The information on oath or affirmation provided to the High Court under subsection (1) shall not, without the express authorisation of the Minister, be disclosed by the Court, an officer or agent of the Court, or any other person, to any person other than a party to an appeal.
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(4) When providing information on oath or affirmation under subsection (1), the Minister may apply to the High Court ex parte for an order that—
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(a) the information shall not be provided to a party to the appeal, and
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(b) a summary of the information, provided to the High Court with the application, shall be provided to the party.
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(5) The High Court shall grant the order applied for under subsection (4) if it is satisfied that—
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(a) the Minister has grounds for believing that providing the information on oath or affirmation under subsection (1) to a party would create a risk to the security of the State, and
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(b) the summary provided with the application for that order is sufficiently clear and detailed to allow the party effectively to challenge the basis on which, or way in which, the information on oath or affirmation is not being provided to it, or provided to it in part, as the case may be, and the Minister shall comply with such an order.
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(6) A person, other than a judge, who contravenes subsection (3) commits an offence and shall be liable—
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(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both, or
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(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to a fine not exceeding €250,000, or both.
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