Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009

• Enactment Date: 12 July 2009
• Act Number: 19

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Number 19 of 2009

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SURVEILLANCE) ACT 2009

REVISED

Updated to 29 June 2022

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009. 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 Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (12/2022), enacted 29 June 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including Social Welfare Act 2021 (Section 8) (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 334 of 2022), made 29 June 2022, 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 19 of 2009

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SURVEILLANCE) ACT 2009

REVISED

Updated to 29 June 2022

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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 first passed.

Related legislation

Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Acts 2009 and 2015: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation (Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2015, s. 1(3)). The Acts in the group are:

• Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 (19/2009)

• Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2015 (3/2015)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions. A version without annotations, showing only textual amendments, is also available.

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

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (12/2022)

• Garda Síochána (Amendment) Act 2015 (3/2015), s. 13

All Acts up to and including Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (12/2022), enacted 29 June 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 (Written Record of Approval) (Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission) Regulations 2017 (S. I. No. 46 of 2017)

• Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 (Written Record of Approval) (Defence Forces) Regulations 2010 (S. I. No. 80 of 2010)

• Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 (Written Record of Approval) (Revenue Commissioners) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 290 of 2009)

• Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 (Written Record of Approval) (An Garda Síochána) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 275 of 2009)

All statutory instruments up to and including Social Welfare Act 2021 (Section 8) (Commencement) Order 2022 (S.I. No. 334 of 2022), made 29 June 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 19 of 2009

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SURVEILLANCE) ACT 2009

REVISED

Updated to 29 June 2022

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Acts Referred to

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961	1961,No. 39
Criminal Justice Act 1984	1984,No. 22
Criminal Justice Act 2006	2006,No. 26
Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005	2005,No. 2
Criminal Law Act 1997	1997,No. 14
Customs Consolidation Act 1876	39 & 40, Vict. Ch. 36
Defence (Amendment) Act 1979	1979,No. 1
Defence (Amendment) Act 1990	1990,No. 6
Defence Act 1954	1954,No. 18
Finance Act 1999	1999,No. 2
Finance Act 2001	2001,No. 7
Finance Act 2003	2003,No. 3
Finance Act 2005	2005,No. 5
Garda Síochána Act 2005	2005, No. 20
Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993	1993,No. 10
Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983	1983,No. 24
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997	1997,No. 39

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Number 19 of 2009

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (SURVEILLANCE) ACT 2009

REVISED

Updated to 29 June 2022

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AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR SURVEILLANCE IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTIGATION OF ARRESTABLE OFFENCES, THE PREVENTION OF SUSPECTED ARRESTABLE OFFENCES AND THE SAFEGUARDING OF THE STATE AGAINST SUBVERSIVE AND TERRORIST THREATS, TO AMEND THE GARDA SÍOCHÁNA ACT 2005 AND THE COURTS (SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS) ACT 1961 AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.

[12th July, 2009]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

Record held or created by the Gardaí under Act excluded from application of Freedom of Information Act 2014 (14.10.2014) by Freedom of Information Act 2014 (30/2014), s. 42(b)(ix), commenced on enactment subject to s. 1(3).

1.

Interpretation.

1.— In this Act—

“Act of 1993” means the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993;

“arrestable offence” has the meaning it has in section 2 (as amended by section 8 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006) of the Criminal Law Act 1997;

“authorisation” means an authorisation for the carrying out of surveillance issued under section 5 or varied or renewed under section 6;

F1["chairperson", in relation to the Ombudsman Commission, means the member of the Ombudsman Commission who is appointed or acting as its chairperson under section 65 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005;

"designated officer of the Ombudsman Commission" means—

(a) an officer of the Ombudsman Commission, or

(b) a person engaged by the Ombudsman Commission under section 74 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005,

who is designated by the Ombudsman Commission under section 73 of that Act for the purpose of performing functions under any provisions of Part 4 of that Act;]

“document” includes—

(a) any book, record or other written or printed material in any form, and

(b) any recording, including any data or information stored, maintained or preserved electronically or otherwise than in legible form;

“judge” means a judge of the District Court;

“member of the Defence Forces” means a member of the Defence Forces within the meaning of section 1 of the Defence (Amendment) Act 1990, other than a member of the Reserve Defence Force within the meaning of the Defence Act 1954;

“member of the Garda Síochána” means a member of the Garda Síochána within the meaning of section 3 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, other than a person referred to in paragraph (b) of that definition;

F1["member of the Ombudsman Commission" means a member of the Ombudsman Commission appointed under section 65 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005;]

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

F1["Ombudsman Commission" means the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission;]

“place” includes—

(a) a dwelling or other building,

(b) a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not,

(c) a vessel, whether sea-going or not,

(d) an aircraft, whether capable of operation or not, and

(e) a hovercraft;

“relevant Minister” means—

F2[(a) the Minister—

(i) in relation to approvals granted by a superior officer of, and documents and information in the custody of, the Garda Síochána, and

(ii) in relation to approvals granted by a superior officer of, and documents and information in the custody of, the Ombudsman Commission,]

(b) the Minister for Defence, in relation to approvals granted by a superior officer of, and documents and information in the custody of, the Defence Forces, and

(c) the Minister for Finance, in relation to approvals granted by a superior officer of, and documents and information in the custody of, the Revenue Commissioners;

“revenue offence” means an offence under any of the following provisions that is an arrestable offence:

(a) section 186 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876;

(b) section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;

(c) section 102 of the Finance Act 1999;

(d) section 119 of the Finance Act 2001;

(e) section 79 (inserted by section 62 of the Finance Act 2005) of the Finance Act 2003;

(f) section 78 of the Finance Act 2005;

“superior officer” means—

(a) in the case of the Garda Síochána, a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent;

F1[(aa) in the case of the Ombudsman Commission, a member of the Ombudsman Commission other than its chairperson;]

(b) in the case of the Defence Forces, a member of the Defence Forces not below the rank of colonel; and

(c) in the case of the Revenue Commissioners, an officer of the Revenue Commissioners not below the rank of principal officer;

“surveillance”...