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FAMILY INCOME SUPPLEMENTS ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1971 - SECT 12 



12.(1) Any person authorised by the Ministry in that behalf may conduct any
proceedings under this Act before a magistrates' court although not a
barrister-at-law or solicitor.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in section 34(a) of the Magistrates' Courts Act
(Northern Ireland) 1964 (time limit for summary proceedings), proceedings for
an offence under this Act may be begun at any time within the period of three
months from the date on which evidence, sufficient in the opinion of
the Ministry to justify a prosecution for the offence, comes to the Ministry's
knowledge, or within the period of twelve months from the commission of the
offence, whichever period last expires.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a certificate purporting to be signed
by the Minister or a secretary or assistant secretary of the Ministry as to
the date on which such evidence as is mentioned in that subsection came to
the Ministry's knowledge shall be prima facie evidence thereof.

(4) In any proceedings for an offence under this Act, the wife or husband of
the accused shall be competent to give evidence, whether for or against the
accused, but shall not be compellable either to give evidence or, in giving
evidence, to disclose any communication made to her or to him by the accused
during the marriage; and accordingly section 4 of the Criminal Evidence Act
(Northern Ireland) 1923 (which makes an accused's spouse a competent witness
in relation to offences under the enactments specified in Schedule 1 to that
Act) shall have effect as if this Act were included among the enactments
mentioned in that Schedule.

S.13 rep. by 1975 c.11 s.14(6) sch.6 Pt.II; 1975 NI16 art.23(2) sch.5 Pt.II;
1977 NI27 art.42(3) sch.7. S.14 rep. by SLR 1976

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© 1971 Crown Copyright

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