CHEMICAL WEAPONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 1994 - SECT 82 Hearing to be in private in certain circumstances

CHEMICAL WEAPONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 1994 - SECT 82

  (1)   At any time before or during the hearing of proceedings before a court in relation to an offence against this Act or the regulations, the court may, if the court thinks it appropriate to prevent the disclosure of information relating to chemical technology:

  (a)   order that some or all of the members of the public are to be excluded during the whole or a part of the proceedings; or

  (b)   order that no report of the whole or a specified part of the proceedings are to be published; or

  (c)   make orders, and give directions, prohibiting or restricting access, either before, during or after the proceedings, to any affidavit, exhibit, information or document used in the proceedings that is on the file in the court or in the records of the court.

  (2)   A person must not contravene an order made, or direction given, under subsection   ( 1).

Penalty:   Imprisonment for 2 years.

  (3)   On the completion of proceedings before a court in relation to an offence against this Act or the regulations, any document containing information relating to chemical technology that would otherwise form part of the records of the court must, as soon as practicable after the completion of those proceedings, be given to the Director.

  (4)   In this section, a reference to proceedings before a court includes a reference to committal proceedings in relation to an indictable offence.

  (5)   For the purposes of this section, proceedings are not taken to have been completed until:

  (a)   in the case of committal proceedings in relation to an indictable offence where the defendant is not committed for trial--the time when the committal proceedings end; or

  (b)   in the case of committal proceedings in relation to a indictable offence where a person is committed for trial in relation to an offence--the trial in relation to the offence has been determined and the time for bringing an appeal arising from the trial has expired or an appeal arising from the trial has been brought and has been determined; or

  (c)   otherwise--the time for bringing an appeal arising from those proceedings has expired or an appeal arising from those proceedings has been brought and has been determined.