30. (1) Subject to subsection (4), after a person is charged with an offence under the Act of 1908 no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify that person as the person charged or to identify any other person as a person in relation to whom the offence is alleged to have been committed shall be published in a publication available to the public or broadcast.

(2) If any matter is published or broadcast in contravention of subsection (1), the following persons shall be guilty of an offence namely:

(a) in the case of matter published in a newspaper or periodical publication, the proprietor, the editor and the publisher thereof;

(b) in the case of matter published in any other publication, the publisher thereof; and

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

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as—

(a) prohibiting the publication or broadcast of matter consisting only of a report of legal proceedings other than proceedings at, or intended to lead to, or an appeal arising out of, a trial of a person for an offence under the Act of 1908, or

(b) affecting any prohibition or restriction imposed by virtue of any other enactment upon the publication or broadcasting of any matter.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), where a person is charged with both an offence under the Act of 1908 and a sexual assault offence and the charge relating to an offence under the Act of 1908 is not proceeded with or the person is acquitted of the charge under the Act of 1908 and no appeal is taken under section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2010, the provisions of sections 7 and 8 of the Act of 1981 shall apply as if the charge under the Act of 1908 had not been brought.

(5) In this section—

“a sexual assault offence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1) of the Act of 1981 (amended by section 12 of the Act of 1990);

“broadcast” means the transmission, relaying or distribution by wireless telegraphy or by any other means or by wireless telegraphy in conjunction with any other means of communications, sounds, signs, visual images or signals, intended for direct reception by the general public whether such communications, sounds, signs, visual images or signals are actually received or not;

“published” means published to any person, and includes published on the internet;

“publication” includes a film, sound track or any other record in permanent form (including a record that is not in a legible form but which is capable of being reproduced in a legible form) but does not include an indictment or other document prepared for use in particular legal proceedings.