PART IV

Amendments Relating to Confiscation Orders

25. —Section 4 of the Act of 1994 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (1) to (3):

“(1) Where a person has been sentenced or otherwise dealt with by a court in respect of one or more drug trafficking offences of which he has been convicted on indictment, the court shall, subject to subsections (2) and (3), determine whether the person has benefited from drug trafficking.

(2) A court may decide not to make a determination under subsection (1) of this section where, following such preliminary inquiries, if any, as it may make, it is satisfied that having regard to—

(a) the present means of the convicted person, and

(b) all of the other circumstances of the case, including the matters which are to be taken into account under section 12(3) of this Act,

the amount, if any, which might be recovered under any confiscation order which might be made would not be sufficient to justify proceeding with consideration of the making of such an order.

(3) The duty of a court to make a determination under subsection (1) of this section shall not apply if the convicted person has died or absconded, and accordingly the provisions of section 13 of this Act shall apply in such a case.”.

26. —Section 7 of the Act of 1994 is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) This section applies where a court has—

(a) determined under section 4 of this Act that a defendant has not benefited from drug trafficking, or

(b) decided under section 4(2) of this Act not to make a determination as to whether a convicted person has benefited from drug trafficking.”,

(b) in subsection (2) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) which was not considered by the court in making, or in deciding not to make, the determination referred to in subsection (1) of this section, but”,

(c) in subsection (3)(a) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i):

“(i) make a determination or a fresh determination, as the case may be, of whether the defendant has benefited from drug trafficking; and”, and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) In considering an application under this section, the court may take into account any payment or other reward received by the defendant on or after the determination, or the decision not to make a determination, referred to in subsection (1) of this section, but only if the Director of Public Prosecutions shows that it was received by the defendant in connection with drug trafficking carried on by the defendant or another person on or before that date.”.

27. —Section 10(1)(a) of the Act of 1994 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following for everything before subparagraph (i):

“(a) a court is engaged in a determination under section 4 of this Act as to whether a convicted person has benefited from drug trafficking or as to any amount to be recovered by virtue of that section, or an application has been made to the court under section 7, 8 or 9 of this Act, and there is tendered to the court by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions a statement as to any matters relevant to—”.

28. —(1) Section 11 of the Act of 1994 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) This section applies where—

(a) a court is engaged in a determination under section 4 of this Act as to whether a convicted person has benefited from drug trafficking or as to any amount to be recovered by virtue of that section, or

(b) an application has been made to a court under section 7, 8 or 9 of this Act.”.

(2) Section 11 of the Act of 1994 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsections:

“(7) A defendant who—

(a) fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with an order under this section, or

(b) gives to the court, in purported compliance with this section, information which the defendant knows or has reason to believe is false or misleading,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

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

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine or to both.

(9) Information that is specified in an order under this section and is given to the court in compliance with that order shall not be admissible in evidence in any proceedings for an offence, other than an offence under this section.”.