- (b) an offence of inciting the commission of, or attempting or conspiring to commit, such an offence.
(3) Proceedings for an offence which are instituted under subsection (1) are to be commenced in the name of an officer, but may be continued by another officer.
(4) Where the Commissioners of Customs and Excise investigate, or propose to investigate, any matter with a view to determining—
- (a) whether there are grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence which relates to the dealing in a tainted cultural object and which involves the importation or exportation of such an object, or
- (b) whether a person should be prosecuted for such an offence,
the matter is to be treated as an assigned matter within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2).
(5) Nothing in this section affects any powers of any person (including any officer) apart from this section.
(6) “Officer” means a person commissioned by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under section 6(3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
5Offences by bodies corporate
(1) If an offence under section 1 committed by a body corporate is proved—
- (a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or
- (b) to be attributable to any neglect on his part,
he (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) “Officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means—
- (a) a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body,
- (b) a person purporting to act in any such capacity.
(3) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body.
6Short title, commencement and extent
(1) This Act may be cited as the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003.
(2) This Act comes into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act does not extend to Scotland.
© Crown copyright 2003
Printed in the UK by The Stationery Office Limited under the authority and superintendence of Carol Tullo, Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office and Queen’s Printer of Acts of Parliament
