PART VII

Offences, Penalties and Legal Proceedings

47. —A person who contravenes any provision of this Act or of any instrument thereunder or any condition attached to a licence shall be guilty of an offence.

48. —(1) In the event of a contravention in or in connection with or in relation to any premises of any provision of this Act or of any instrument thereunder, the occupier or, in the case of licensed premises, the licensee shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be guilty of an offence, without prejudice to the liability of any other person.

(2) In the event of a contravention by any person of any provision which expressly imposes any duty upon him, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and the occupier or licensee, as the case may be, shall not be guilty of an offence by reason only of such contravention unless it is proved that he failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the contravention, but this subsection shall not be taken as affecting any liability of the occupier or licensee in respect of the same matters by virtue of some other provision.

49. —Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body, he, as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

50. —(1) A person who—

(a) forges or counterfeits any licence or certificate required for the purposes of this Act,

(b) gives or signs a certificate knowing it to be false in any material particular,

(c) knowingly utters or makes use of a licence or certificate so forged, counterfeited or false as aforesaid,

(d) knowingly utters or makes use of as applying to any person a licence or certificate which does not so apply,

(e) personates any person named in a licence or certificate,

(f) falsely pretends to be an inspector,

(g) wilfully connives at any such forging, counterfeiting, giving, signing, uttering, making use, personating or pretending,

(h) wilfully makes a false entry in any document required for the purposes of this Act to be kept or served or sent,

(i) wilfully makes or signs a false declaration when making or signing a declaration required for the purposes of this Act, or

(j) knowingly makes use of any such false entry or declaration,

shall, without prejudice to any other offence, be guilty of an offence under this Act.

(2) In this section, “forges” has the same meaning as in the Forgery Act, 1913.

51. —Where a carrier or the owner of any vehicle or master of any vessel is prevented from complying with this Act by the wilful act, neglect, or default of the consignor or consignee of any substance to which this Act applies, or other person, or by the improper refusal of the consignee or other person to accept delivery of the substance, the consignor, consignee, or other person who is guilty of the wilful act, neglect, default, or refusal shall be liable to the same penalty to which the carrier, owner, or master is liable for a contravention of this Act, and the carrier, owner, or master shall be exempt from any penalty or forfeiture under this Act.

52. —(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act for which no express penalty is provided shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and the contravention in respect of which he was convicted is continued after the conviction, he shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for each day on which the contravention is so continued.

53. —Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to or instead of inflicting a fine, order him, within the time specified in the order, to take such steps as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which the contravention occurred, and may, on application, enlarge the time so specified, and he shall not be liable under this Act in respect of the continuation of the contravention during the time so allowed, but if, after the expiration of that time, the order is not complied with, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day on which the non-compliance continues.

54. —An offence under section 52 (2) or 53 shall be a continuing offence and accordingly fresh proceedings in respect thereof may be taken from time to time.

55. —(1) Any offence under any provision of this Act (other than section 61) punishable on summary conviction may be prosecuted by the Minister.

(2) A local or harbour authority empowered by this Act to issue a licence may prosecute summarily any contravention of the conditions of the licence.

56. —(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act the court may order that any substance or other thing in respect of which the offence was committed and which is owned by or found in the possession or control of that person be forfeited.

(2) In lieu of forfeiture the court may impose, in addition to any fine, a penalty not exceeding such sum as appears to the court to be the value of that which is liable to forfeiture.

57. —(1) Where anything is forfeited under this Act the Minister may direct that it be sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of in such manner as he thinks fit.

(2) The receptacle containing anything so forfeited may also be sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of in like manner as its contents.

(3) The Minister may, for the purpose of such sale or disposal, require the owner of anything forfeited to permit the use of any vehicle containing it, upon payment of reasonable compensation the amount of which shall, in case of dispute, be determined by a Justice of the District Court.

(4) The owner and the person having possession of anything directed to be destroyed, and the owner or other person in charge of the vehicle containing it, or some or one of them, shall, if so directed by the Minister, destroy it accordingly, and, if the Minister so directs, the vehicle may be detained until the destruction is carried out.

(5) If the Minister is satisfied that the direction as to destruction has not been complied with and that the detention of the vehicle will not secure the safety of the public, and that it is impracticable, having regard to the safety of the public or of the persons employed in such destruction, to carry out the destruction without using or otherwise dealing with the vehicle as if it were a receptacle for that which is forfeited, the Minister may direct the vehicle to be, and it may accordingly be, so used or dealt with.

58. —It shall be a good defence for a person charged with an offence under this Act to prove that, by reason of inevitable accident or other emergency, the act or omission complained of was, in the circumstances, necessary and proper.

59. —A document which purports to be a copy of any instrument under this Act and which has endorsed thereon a certificate, purporting to be signed by an officer of the Minister or authority by whom it was issued, stating that the document is a true copy of the instrument and that the instrument was in force on a specified day shall, without proof of the status or signature of that officer, be prima facie evidence of the instrument and that it was in force on that day.

60. —(1) Any document (including any summons or requirement) required or authorised to be served, sent or given under this Act on or to any person may be served, sent or given—

(a) by delivering it to that person or in the case of a partnership, to any of the partners, or by leaving it at, or posting it to, the residence of that person,

(b) in the case of the owner or occupier of any premises, in any such manner as aforesaid or by delivering it, or a true copy thereof, to any person apparently not under the age of sixteen years at the premises.

(2) Any document referred to in subsection (1) may be addressed, for the purpose of the service, sending or giving thereof under this Act on or to the occupier of premises, to “the occupier” at the proper postal address of the premises, without further name or description.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1963 , shall be deemed to reside at its registered office, and every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to reside at its principal office or place of business in the State.