Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994
55General criminal defence
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55 General criminal defence
(1) [Section 55 Subsection (1) substituted by No. 56 of 2000, s. 29, Applied:14 Jul 2000] It is a defence to a charge of an offence against this Act, including –
(a) an offence by a body corporate or a natural person where conduct or a state of mind is imputed to the body corporate or person under this Part; and
(b) an offence by an officer of a body corporate under this Part –
if it is proved that –
(c) the alleged offence did not result from any failure on the defendant's part to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent the commission of the offence or offences of the same or a similar nature; or
(d) the act or omission alleged to constitute the offence was justified by the need to protect life, the environment or property in a situation of emergency and that the defendant was not guilty of any failure to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent or deal with such an emergency.
(2) [Section 55 Subsection (2) omitted by No. 56 of 2000, s. 29, Applied:14 Jul 2000] . . . . . . . .
(3) [Section 55 Subsection (3) amended by No. 56 of 2000, s. 29, Applied:14 Jul 2000] Where a body corporate or other employer seeks to establish either of the defences provided by this section by proving the establishment of proper workplace systems and procedures designed to prevent a contravention of this Act, that proof must be accompanied by proof–
(a) that proper systems and procedures were also in place whereby any such contravention or risk of such contravention of this Act that came to the knowledge of a person at any level in the workforce was required to be reported promptly to the governing body of the body corporate or to the employer, or to a person or group with the right to report to the governing body or to the employer; and
(b) that the governing body of the body corporate or the employer actively and effectively promoted and enforced compliance with this Act and with all such systems and procedures within all relevant areas of the workforce.