Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 22/1998
• Year: 1998

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Number 22 of 1998

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CHILD TRAFFICKING AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT 1998

REVISED

Updated to 21 May 2020

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (2/2020), enacted 27 March 2020, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 182 of 2020), made 21 May 2020, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 22 of 1998

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CHILD TRAFFICKING AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT 1998

REVISED

Updated to 21 May 2020

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Child Trafficking and Pornography Acts 1998 to 2004: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Child Trafficking and Pornography (Amendment) Act 2004 (17/2004), s. 2(2)). The Acts in this group are:

• Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 (22/1998)

• Child Trafficking and Pornography (Amendment) Act 2004 (17/2004)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 (2/2017)

• Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 (4/2016)

• Children First Act 2015 (36/2015)

• Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013)

• Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 (33/2013)

• Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act 2013 (24/2013)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (24/2012)

• Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010)

• Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (8/2008)

• Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Act 2007 (6/2007)

• Child Trafficking and Pornography (Amendment) Act 2004 (17/2004)

• Children Act 2001 (24/2001)

• Sex Offenders Act 2001 (18/2001)

• Bail Act 1997 (16/1997)

• Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 (38/1996)

• Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (12/1992)

All Acts up to and including Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 (2/2020), enacted 27 March 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

None.

All statutory instruments up to and including Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 182 of 2020), made 21 May 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 22 of 1998

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CHILD TRAFFICKING AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT 1998

REVISED

Updated to 21 May 2020

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Acts Referred to
Bail Act, 1997	1997, No. 16
Censorship of Films Acts, 1923 to 1992
Censorship of Publications Acts, 1929 to 1967
Criminal Evidence Act, 1992	1992, No. 12
Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act, 1996	1996, No. 38
Video Recordings Acts, 1989 and 1992

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Number 22 of 1998

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CHILD TRAFFICKING AND PORNOGRAPHY ACT 1998

REVISED

Updated to 21 May 2020

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AN ACT TO PROHIBIT TRAFFICKING IN, OR THE USE OF, CHILDREN FOR THE PURPOSES OF THEIR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND THE PRODUCTION, DISSEMINATION, HANDLING OR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [29th June, 1998]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

A number of Acts refer to offences under this Act as disqualifying or potentially disqualifying offences, or as otherwise meriting certain treatment. They include:

• Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 (4/2016), s. 5 and sch. 1 part 2 para. 17

• Taxi Regulation Act 2013 (37/2013), ss. 10, 30, 31 and sch. part 2 para. 5

• Children First Act 2015 (36/2015), s. 2 and sch. 3 para. 10 (included in definition of sexual abuse which is included in the definition of harm)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (24/2012), s. 2 and sch. 1 paras. 13 and 15(c)

• Criminal Procedure Act 2010 (27/2010), s. 7 and sch. para. 11 (for purposes of Part 3, included in definition of relevant offence)

• Children Act 2001 (24/2001), ss. 251, 253-257 and sch. 1 para. 9

• Sex Offenders Act 2001 (18/2001), s. 3 and sch. para. 16

• Bail Act 1997 (16/1997), s. 1 and sch. para. 12A (included in definition of serious offence)

• Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 (38/1996), s. 2 and sch. paras. 9, 10 as inserted

• Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (32/1995), s. 26 as amended by Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 (23/2011), s. 3

• Criminal Evidence Act 1992 (12/1992), s. 2 and Part III

Short title and commencement.

1

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.

(2) This Act shall come into operation one month after the date of its passing.

Interpretation.

2

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“audio representation” includes—

(a) any such representation by means of tape, computer disk or other thing from which such a representation can be produced, and

(b) any tape, computer disk or other thing on which any such representation is recorded;

F1[“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;]

“child pornography” means—

F2[(a) any visual representation—

(i) that shows, or in the case of a document relates to, a person who is or is depicted as being a child and who is engaged in or is depicted as being engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit activity,

(ii) that shows, or in the case of a document relates to, a person who is or is depicted as being a child and who is or is depicted as witnessing any such activity by any person or persons, or

(iii) that shows, for a sexual purpose, the genital or anal region of a child or of a person depicted as being a child,]

(b) any audio representation of a person who is or is represented as being a child and who is engaged in or is represented as being engaged in explicit sexual activity,

(c) any visual or audio representation that advocates, encourages or counsels any sexual activity with children which is an offence under any enactment, or

(d) any visual representation or description of, or information relating to, a child that indicates or implies that the child is available to be used for the purpose of sexual exploitation within the meaning of section 3,

irrespective of how or through what medium the representation, description or information has been produced, transmitted or conveyed and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes any representation, description or information produced by or from computer-graphics or by any other electronic or mechanical means but does not include—

(I) any book or periodical publication which has been examined by the Censorship of Publications Board and in respect of which a prohibition order under the Censorship of Publications Acts, 1929 to 1967, is not for the time being in force,

(II) any film in respect of which a general certificate or a limited certificate under the Censorship of Films Acts, 1923 to 1992, is in force, or

(III) any video work in respect of which a supply certificate under the Video Recordings Acts, 1989 and 1992, is in force;

“document” includes—

(a) any book, periodical or pamphlet, and

(b) where appropriate, any tape, computer disk or other thing on which data capable of conversion into any such document is stored;

“photographic representation” includes the negative as well as the positive version;

“visual representation” includes—

(a) any photographic, film or video representation, any accompanying sound or any document,

(b) any copy of any such representation or document, and

(c) any tape, computer disk or other thing on which the visual representation and any accompanying sound are recorded.

(2) The reference in...