12.— (1) Subject to this section, an application for a re-trial order shall be conducted in open court.

(2) Where the Court is hearing an application for a re-trial order under section 8 or 9 and is satisfied that it is in the interests of justice to do so, it may exclude from the Court during the proceeding—

(a) the public or any portion of the public, or

(b) any particular person or persons,

other than bona fide representatives of the Press.

(3) The Court may, if it considers that it is in the interests of justice to do so, make an order prohibiting the publication or broadcast of—

(a) any evidence given or referred to at a hearing of an application for a re-trial order, or

(b) any matter identifying or having the effect of identifying any person who is the subject of an application for a re-trial order, or any other person connected with the re-trial for which an order is sought under section 8 or 9.

(4) An order under subsection (3) ceases to have effect (unless it specifies an earlier date)—

(a) when there is no longer any step that could be taken which would lead to the person concerned being re-tried pursuant to a re-trial order, or

(b) where the person concerned is re-tried pursuant to a re-trial order, at the conclusion of the trial.

(5) (a) If any matter is published or broadcast in contravention of subsection (3), the following persons, namely—

(i) in the case of a publication in a newspaper or periodical, any proprietor, any editor and any publisher of the newspaper or periodical,

(ii) in the case of any other publication, the person who publishes it, and

(iii) in the case of a broadcast, any person who transmits or provides the programme in which the broadcast is made and any person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of the editor of a newspaper,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(b) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (a) shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.

(c) Where an offence under paragraph (a) is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to be attributable to, any neglect on the part of a person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or any other person who was acting or purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(d) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (c) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.

(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any other enactment that imposes restrictions on the extent to which information relating to court proceedings may be published or broadcast.