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40 1998

INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALS ACT, 1998

PART V

Miscellaneous

Offence.

35. —(1) A person who interferes with or intimidates or attempts to interfere with or intimidate an international tribunal witness shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(3) In this section “international tribunal witness” includes a person—

(a) who is summoned to appear before an international tribunal and who, at the time of the act constituting the offence under this section, is within the State, or

(b) from whom evidence is to be taken in the State or by whom documents or other articles are to be produced in the State for transmission to an international tribunal.

Expenses.

36. —The expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Power to make regulations.

37. —(1) The Minister may make regulations for any or all of the following purposes:

(a) declaring any tribunal or court established by the United Nations for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed outside the State to be an international tribunal for the purposes of this Act;

(b) adapting or modifying any provision of this Act to resolve any difficulty that arises in applying that provision to a tribunal or court declared under this section to be an international tribunal;

(c) providing for assistance to an international tribunal in response to a request for the taking of evidence or the production of documents or other articles;

(d) providing, for the purposes of their admission in evidence in any proceedings under Part IV , for proof of orders, certificates and other documents of an international tribunal and for proof of translations of those documents;

(e) providing for the retention, preservation and protection of documents or other articles seized under section 30 and for their return to the person from whom they were seized or for their disposal;

(f) declaring that specified provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 , shall apply for the purposes of enabling the State to co-operate with an international tribunal and providing for any modifications to those provisions that the Minister considers necessary for that purpose;

(g) providing for any other matter considered necessary or expedient for giving full effect to this Act.

(2) Where it is proposed to make regulations under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by both Houses.

(3) Where regulations are made under any of paragraphs (c) to (g) of subsection (1)

(a) they shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made, and

(b) if a resolution annulling them is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulations are laid before it, they shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Repeal.

38. Section 56 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 , is hereby repealed.