S.L. 549.134 Art. 30Investigations.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Chief Executive to ensure that the provisions of these regulations are observed, and to gather information that may be necessary for him to carry out his functions; and for such purpose he shall have the power to carry out investigations of his own motion or at the request of the Minister or upon a reasonable allegation in writing of a breach of the provisions of these regulations by a complainant or by the licensed operator.

(2) Where the Agency receives a complaint by the licensed operator in terms of sub-regulation (1), the Agency shall inform the licensed operator within seven (7) days whether it intends to act upon the complaint and the steps it intends to take or has already taken in this regard.

(3) During the course of any investigation carried out by the Agency in accordance with sub-regulation (1), or in order to ensure compliance with these regulations, without prejudice to the provisions of regulations 12, 22 and 37 of these regulations, the Chief Executive shall be empowered to request any specific information and documentation from any person subject to these regulations, within such time as in the circumstances the Chief Executive may consider reasonable:

Provided that nothing in this sub-regulation may be construed as authorising the Chief Executive to order the production of any document or the disclosure of any information which may be subject to the duty of professional secrecy.

(4) When sending a request for information in terms of sub-regulation (3), the Chief Executive shall state the legal basis and purposes of the request, shall indicate what information is required, and shall indicate the fines provided for in sub-regulations (2), (3) and

(4) of regulation 31.

(5) Where persons submit information which contains business secrets or other confidential information they shall clearly identify any material which they consider to be confidential, giving reasons therefor, and provide a separate non-confidential version, where applicable, by the date set by the Chief Executive.

(6) The Chief Executive and, or his officers and, or any other expert duly authorised by a warrant issued by a Magistrate and, with the assistance of the Executive Police, may, for the purposes of ensuring compliance with these regulations, and, or for the purpose of any investigation under sub-regulation (1) enter into and search any premises, land or means of transport where the Chief Executive has reason to believe that information relevant to the investigation may be found, and in the course of any such search the Chief Executive and, or his officers, and, or any other expert shall be empowered to:

(a) inspect and examine any object or document and, or;

(b) seize any object or document, or take extracts or copies of documents and, or;

(c) require any information which is stored in a computer or any other object or device which is accessible from the premises, land or means of transport and which the Chief Executive and, or his officers and, or other experts consider relevant to the investigation, to be delivered in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible and, or;

(d) order the non-removal of any object or documents from any such premises, land or means of transport and, or;

(e) close and seal any or all parts of such premises, land or means of transport, or put any object under seal and, or;

(f) ask any representative or member of staff of the person concerned for an explanation of any fact or document relating to the subject-matter and purpose of the inspection or to state to the best of their knowledge and belief where the documents may be found and record the answers and, or;

(g) take any steps which appear to be necessary to preserve any object or document or to prevent any interference with such object or document.

(7) The Magistrate, in deciding whether to issue a warrant under sub-regulation (6) shall ensure that the coercive measures envisaged are neither arbitrary nor excessive, having regard, in particular, to the gravity of the suspected infringement, to the importance of the evidence sought, to the involvement of the person concerned and to the reasonable likelihood that any object, document or record relating to the subject-matter of the inspection are kept in the premises, land or means of transport for which the warrant is requested:

Provided that the Magistrate, in deciding whether to issue a warrant under sub-regulation (6), may also take into account the possibility that in the case where it is the Chief Executive who would request these objects, documents or records, these would not be produced, but would instead be concealed, removed, tampered with or destroyed.

(8) The warrant mentioned in sub-regulation (6) shall specify the subject-matter, purpose of the inspection, the date on which the inspection is to begin and the nature of the offence and penalties provided for in regulation 31.