Clause 48 - Powers of inspectors
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
10:15 am
Lady Lady Hermon (North Down, UUP)
I beg to move amendment No. 191 page 27, line 42, at end insert—
'(ba) any person to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where any such document is to be found, or'.
I enjoy the exercise because I do not get it in any other shape or form, Mr. Conway.
The chief inspector of criminal justice should be able to require three things during an inspection: first, that documents be produced, which is covered in subsection (2)(a); secondly, that such documents be explained, which is covered in subsection (2)(b); and, thirdly, that a person be required to state where documents are to be found, subject to
''the best of his knowledge and belief'',
so that the bland wording of subsection (2)(c) is clarified. The three steps for the documents produced are identification, explanation and information as to where they are to be found, to the best of a person's knowledge or belief. Thus there are three steps and three requirements.
I took a useful example from the Competition Act 1998, in which inspectors who seek to detect breaches of European Union competition rules have those three clear requirements when carrying out an inspection. A chief inspector of criminal justice should have powers equal to those of an inspector who seeks to find out whether competition rules have been breached.