Commentary on Sections Section 20: Information and records for Convention purposes
114.The purpose of this section is to enable the UK to make the reports required under Article 7 of the Convention. As a transparency measure under Article 7 a State Party is required to submit a first report within 180 days of the Convention entering into force for that State Party, and annual reports thereafter, on national implementation measures and other details (which include the cluster munitions retained for permitted purposes). This section confers the necessary powers for the Secretary of State to require people to maintain records and provide information needed for the purposes of the Convention.
115.Subsection (1) enables the Secretary of State to obtain information needed in connection with the Convention by serving a notice on any person requiring the person to provide the information needed.
116.The effect of subsection (2) is that the information required to be given by a notice under this section must be information that the Secretary of State has reasonable cause to believe is, or will be, needed in connection with anything to be done for the purposes of the Convention. Subsection (2)(b) provides that the information required may relate to situations, or events that have taken place, before either the Convention or the Act has entered into force.
117.Subsection (3) provides that the notice served under subsection (1) may say in what form the information must be given, and a date by which the information must be given. It is implicit that the period specified in subsection (3)(b) must be reasonable.
118.Subsections (4) and (5) enable the Secretary of State to serve a notice requiring any person to keep the records specified in the notice. These are records which are thought likely to assist with providing the information which that person may be required to give under subsection (1).
119.Subsection (6) prevents the Secretary of State obtaining information without consent if the information might incriminate the person on whom a notice has been served under subsection (1) or, if that person is married or a civil partner, the person’s spouse or civil partner. Subsection (7) prevents the power in subsection (1) from being used to obtain information protected by legal professional privilege (or, in Scotland, confidentiality of communications).
120.To ensure the procedure in this section is complied with, subsection (8) makes it an offence not to comply with a notice issued under either subsection (1) or (4) without a reasonable excuse; and subsection (9) makes it an offence knowingly to make a false or misleading statement in response to a notice served under subsection (1).
121.In both subsections (8) and (9) penalties are specified. Subsection (8) mirrors the penalties laid down in section 18(4) for obstruction, and subsection (9) mirrors the penalties laid down in section 18(5) for making false or misleading statements.