REFERENDUM ACT 1994
Inspection of ballot papers etc.
39.—(1) No person shall be allowed to inspect any of the documents mentioned in subsection (2) except under an order of the High Court.
(2) The documents referred to in subsection (1) are—
(a) the counterfoils of the ballot papers sent to postal voters in pursuance of section 28.
(b) the counterfoils of the ballot papers delivered to special voters in pursuance of section 82 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 29),
(c) the documents referred to in subsections (2) and (3) of section 76 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 28), and
(d) the documents referred to in section 38 (1).
(3) An order referred to in subsection (1) shall not be made unless the court is satisfied that the inspection or production of the documents concerned is required for the purpose of instituting or maintaining a prosecution for an offence under a provision of the Act of 1992 specified in section 6 and as applied by that section or for the purpose of a referendum petition.
(4) An order referred to in subsection (1) may be made subject to such conditions as to persons, time and place and mode of inspection or production as the court may think expedient and shall make provision to ensure that the manner in which any voter voted shall not be disclosed.
(5) Where an order is made under subsection (1) in relation to a document referred to in that subsection—
(a) the production in a court by the referendum returning officer of that document shall, until the contrary is proved, be sufficient proof that the document relates to the referendum specified in the order, and
(b) any endorsement appearing on any packet produced in a court by the referendum returning officer shall, until the contrary is shown, be sufficient evidence that the contents of the packet are what they are stated to be in the endorsement.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C24
Prospective affecting provision: subs. (2) applied with modifications by Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004 (15/2004), s. 6(b), 7 and sch. 3 para. (m), not commenced as of date of revision.
Application of certain provisions of relevant enactments
6.—The provisions of— ...
(b) Parts I, II and IV of the Act of 1994,
...
shall, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 4 to this Act, apply and have effect in relation to voting and vote counting under this Part at a relevant election or, as the case may be, a referendum.
Modification of relevant enactments in their application for purposes of Act
7.—Schedules 1 to 4 to this Act have effect for the purpose of modifying certain enactments in so far as those enactments apply for the purposes of this Act.
SCHEDULE 3
Modification of Certain Provisions of Act of 1994
For the purpose of the application by virtue of this Act to voting and the counting of votes at a referendum of certain provisions of the Act of 1994, the said provisions as so applied shall have effect as if— ...
(m) in section 39 of that Act there were substituted for paragraph (d) of subsection (2) the following:
“(d) the cartridges or discs referred to in subsection (1) of section 38 (as modified by virtue of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004) and the documents referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 12 (9) of that Act.”
...