CRIMINAL JUSTICE (WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION ON OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS) ACT 2012

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 24/2012

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Number 24 of 2012

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION ON OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS) ACT 2012

REVISED

Updated to 3 August 2022

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under 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 Electoral Reform Act 2022 (30/2022), enacted 25 July 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 412 of 2022), made 3 August 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 24 of 2012

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION ON OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS) ACT 2012

REVISED

Updated to 3 August 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 passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

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)

All Acts up to and including Electoral Reform Act 2022 (30/2022), enacted 25 July 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (Prescribed Organisations and Prescribed Persons) Order 2015 (S.I. No. 159 of 2015)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (Prescribed Organisations and Prescribed Persons) Order 2014 (S.I. No. 197 of 2014)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (Prescribed Organisations and Prescribed Persons) (No. 2) Order 2013 (S.I. No. 402 of 2013)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (Prescribed Organisations and Prescribed Persons) Order 2013 (S.I. No. 1 of 2013)

• Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 (Commencement) Order 2012 (S.I. No. 281 of 2012)

All statutory instruments up to and including Employment Permits (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 412 of 2022), made 3 August 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 24 of 2012

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION ON OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS) ACT 2012

REVISED

Updated to 3 August 2022

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Acts Referred to

Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998	1998, No. 22
Children Act 2001	2001, No. 24
Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010	2010, No. 24
Criminal Justice Act 2006	2006, No. 26
Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012	2012, No. 11
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008	2008, No. 8
Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990	1990, No. 32
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993	1993, No. 20
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006	2006, No. 15
Criminal Law Act 1997	1997, No. 14
Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005	2005, No. 27
Medical Practitioners Act 2007	2007, No. 25
Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997	1997, No. 26
Nurses and Midwives Act 2011	2011, No. 41
Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998	1998, No. 39
Punishment of Incest Act 1908	8 Edw. 7, c.45
Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996	1996, No. 38

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Number 24 of 2012

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE (WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION ON OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE PERSONS) ACT 2012

REVISED

Updated to 3 August 2022

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AN ACT TO PROVIDE, IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND CERTAIN VULNERABLE ADULTS, FOR OFFENCES OF WITHHOLDING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE COMMISSION OF CERTAIN ARRESTABLE OFFENCES (INCLUDING CERTAIN SEXUAL OFFENCES) AGAINST CHILDREN, OR CERTAIN ARRESTABLE OFFENCES (INCLUDING CERTAIN SEXUAL OFFENCES) AGAINST SUCH ADULTS, IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMENDMENT OF SECTION 9 OF THE OFFENCES AGAINST THE STATE (AMENDMENT) ACT 1998; TO AMEND SECTION 16 OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE (FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION) ACT 2012; AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.

[18th July, 2012]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.

Interpretation.

1.— (1) In this Act—

“arrestable offence” has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Criminal Law Act 1997;

“child” means a person who has not attained 18 years of age;

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;

“prescribed” means prescribed by order made by the Minister under section 10;

“Schedule 1 offence” means an offence that is an arrestable offence and is specified in Schedule 1;

“Schedule 2 offence” means an offence that is an arrestable offence and is specified in Schedule 2;

“vulnerable person” means a person (including, insofar as the offences specified at paragraph 8 of Schedule 2 are concerned, a child aged 17 years old)—

(a) who—

(i) is suffering from a disorder of the mind, whether as a result of mental illness or dementia, or

(ii) has an intellectual disability,

which is of such a nature or degree as to severely restrict the capacity of the person to guard himself or herself against serious exploitation or abuse, whether physical or sexual, by another person, or

(b) who is suffering from an enduring physical impairment or injury which is of such a nature or degree as to severely restrict the capacity of the person to guard himself or herself against serious exploitation or abuse, whether physical or sexual, by another person or to report such exploitation or abuse to the Garda Síochána or both.

(2) In this Act references to a Schedule 1 offence or a Schedule 2 offence shall include—

(a) references to an offence of participating as an accomplice of a person who commits a Schedule 1 offence or a Schedule 2 offence, as the case may be, and

(b) references to an offence of attempting or conspiring to commit, or inciting the commission of, a Schedule 1 offence or a Schedule 2 offence, as the case may be,

but shall not include such an offence of participating, attempting, conspiring or inciting, as the case may be, if it is not an arrestable offence.

(3) In this Act references to the commission of an offence against a child or vulnerable person shall, in the case of any of the offences of a sexual nature specified in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, include references to where the child or vulnerable person was the other party to the offence (other than the person who committed it).

2.

Offence of withholding information on certain offences against children.

2.— (1) Subject to this section, a person shall be guilty of an offence if—

(a) he or she knows or believes that an offence, that is a Schedule 1 offence, has been committed by another person against a child, and

(b) he or she has information which he or she knows or believes might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of that other person for that offence,

and fails without reasonable excuse to disclose that information as soon as it is practicable to do so to a member of the Garda Síochána.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only to information that a person acquires, receives or becomes aware of after the passing of this Act irrespective of whether the Schedule 1 offence concerned was committed before or after that passing.

(3) The child against whom the Schedule 1 offence concerned was committed (whether or not still a child) shall not be guilty of an offence under this section.

(4) This section is without prejudice to any right or privilege that may arise in any...