18. (1) The Council shall—

(a) establish a committee to be known as the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee, and

(b) at the first meeting of the Council, specify the date upon which that Committee shall stand established which shall be a date not later than 3 months following that first meeting.

(2) The functions of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee shall be to prepare and submit to the Board for its review—

(a) draft personal injuries guidelines in accordance with section 90, and

(b) draft amendments to the personal injuries guidelines in accordance with that section.

(3) The Council may issue directions to the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee in relation to the performance by it of the functions referred to in subsection (2).

(4) The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee shall submit the first draft of personal injuries guidelines to the Board F5[not later than 9 December 2020].

(5) The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee may, from time to time, review the personal injuries guidelines and shall—

(a) review those guidelines F6[within 3 years of the adoption by the Council of the guidelines first adopted by it] under section 7 and at least once thereafter in every 3 year period beginning on the completion of the first review, and

(b) submit the outcome of each review under this subsection to the Board.

(6) Where the outcome of a review under subsection (5) includes a recommendation for amendments to the guidelines, the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee shall prepare a draft of such amendments and shall submit the draft amendments to the Board for its review at the same time as the outcome of the review is submitted to it.

(7) The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee, and any person authorised by it to act on its behalf, may, for the purpose of performing its functions under subsection (2) —

(a) require any person to provide it with such records, documents or information as it may reasonably require for that purpose,

(b) consult with such persons as the Committee considers appropriate, including the Personal Injuries Assessment Board,

(c) conduct research on damages for personal injuries including—

(i) the level of damages awarded by courts in the State and by courts in places outside the State, and

(ii) settlements of claims for damages for personal injuries,

(d) organise conferences, seminars and meetings relevant to those functions.

(8) Without prejudice to his or her obligations under the Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, a person of whom a requirement is made under subsection (7)(a) shall comply with that requirement.

(9) A person who, without reasonable cause, contravenes subsection (8) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine.

(10) The court in which a conviction for an offence under this section is recorded or affirmed may order that the person convicted shall comply with the requirement made under subsection (7)(a), the contravention of which led to the conviction concerned.

(11) The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee shall prepare and submit to the Council, for inclusion in the annual report of the Council under section 37, a report in writing of the activities of the Committee during the period to which the annual report relates.