Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

4.   Application for interception direction and unauthorised disclosure of application

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   (1)   An authorised officer who wishes to obtain an interception direction under the provisions of this Act shall request the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions to make an application ex parte to a judge in chambers on his or her behalf.

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   (2)   Subject to section 10, an application referred to in subsection (1) shall be in writing in the prescribed form and shall be accompanied by an affidavit deposing the following—

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      (a)     the name of the authorised officer on behalf of whom the application is made;

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      (b)     the facts or allegations giving rise to the application;

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      (c)     sufficient information for a judge to issue an interception direction;

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      (d)     the ground referred to in section 5 (1) on which the application is made;

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      (e)     full particulars of all the facts and the circumstances alleged by the authorised officer on whose behalf the application is made including—

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         (i)     if practical, a description of the nature and location of the facilities from which or the premises at which the communication is to be intercepted; and

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         (ii)     the basis for believing that evidence relating to the ground on which the application is made will be obtained through the interception;

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      (f)     if applicable, whether other investigative procedures have been applied and failed to produce the required evidence or the reason why other investigative procedures reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if applied, or are likely to be too dangerous to apply in order to obtain the required evidence;

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      (g)     the period for which the interception direction is required to be issued;

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      (h)     whether any previous application has been made for the issuing of an interception direction in respect of the same person, the same facility or the same premises specified in the application and, if such previous application exists, shall indicate the current status of that application; and

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      (i)     any other directives issued by the judge.

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   (3)   Subsection (2)(d) shall not apply in respect of an application for the issuing of an interception direction on a ground referred to in section 5(1)(a), if a serious offence has been or is being or will probably be committed for the benefit of, or at the direction of, or in association with, a person, a group of persons or syndicate involved in organised crime.

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   (4)   Where an interception direction is applied for on the grounds of national security, the application shall be accompanied by a written authorisation signed by the Minister authorising the application on that ground.

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   (5)   Subject to subsection (6), the records relating to an application for an interception direction or the renewal or modification thereof shall be—

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      (a)     placed in a packet and sealed by the judge to whom the application is made immediately on determination of the application; and

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      (b)     kept in the custody of the court in a place to which the public has no access or such place as the judge may authorise.

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   (6)   The records referred to in subsection (5) may be opened if a judge so orders only—

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      (a)     for the purpose of dealing with an application for further authorization; or

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      (b)     for renewal of an authorisation.

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   (7)   Any person who discloses the existence of an application for an interception direction, other than to the authorised officer, commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.

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   (8)   It shall be a defence in any proceedings against a person for the person to show—

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      (a)     that the disclosure was made by or to an attorney-at-law in connection with the giving by the attorney-at-law to any client of his or her advice about the effect of the provisions of this Act; and

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      (b)     the person to whom or, as the case may be, by whom a disclosure referred to in subsection (7) was made, was the client or a representative of the client.

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   (9)   It shall be a defence in proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (7) to show that the disclosure was made by an attorney-at-law—

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      (a)     in contemplation of, or in connection with any legal proceedings; and

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      (b)     for the purposes of the proceedings.

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   (10)   Subsections (7) and (8) shall not apply in the case of a disclosure made with a view to furthering any criminal purpose.

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   (11)   In proceedings against a person for an offence under subsection (7), it shall be a defence for that person to show that the disclosure was confined to a disclosure permitted by the authorised officer.