Retention and disposal or return of items Section 30: Forfeiture of seized items by court on application
This section provides for the forfeiture and disposal of seized ivory items and other items where the procedure in section 32 does not apply. Subsection (3) allows a magistrates’ court (in England and Wales), a sheriff (in Scotland) or a court of summary jurisdiction (in Northern Ireland) (see subsection (8)) to order the forfeiture of an item if the court is satisfied that a relevant offence has been committed in respect of that item, or the item was used in the commission of a relevant offence. Where the court orders forfeiture, it is for the applicant (namely, the officer who made the application), another officer acting on behalf of the same person as that officer or the Secretary of State to decide on the method of disposal for the forfeited item (subsection (5)). Any action to dispose of the item is stayed pending the outcome of any appeal or until the end of the timeframe in which an appeal can be brought (subsection (6)). Subsection (7) makes further provision for the return of an item under subsection (4), authorising the continued retention of an item, pending the outcome of an application for forfeiture, or any appeal against a decision by the court to order the item to be returned to the person from whom it was seized, or the owner of the item.