Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

(1)
A person on whom there is or may be conferred under a provision in any
                Ordinance, being a provision to which
section 83
applies, the power to
                enter any premises and to search the premises or any person found on the premises or
                to seize any material, may apply to a judge of the Court of First Instance or
                District Court for the issue of a warrant under subsection (3) authorizing him to
                enter those premises for the purpose of searching for or seizing material which is
                known or suspected to be journalistic material.
(Amended
26 of 1998 s. 34
)
(2)
An application for a warrant under this section shall not be made unless it has
                been approved by a person specified in
Schedule 7
to be a directorate
                disciplined officer.
(3)
If on an application under subsection (1) a
judge—
(a)
is
satisfied—
(i)
that the conditions specified in
section 84(3
)(
a)
, (c) and
                        (d)(i) are fulfilled; and
(ii)
that one of the further conditions set out in subsection (5) is also
                        fulfilled; or
(b)
is satisfied that an order under
section 84
relating to the
                    material has not been complied with,
he may, subject to subsection (4), issue a warrant authorizing the applicant
                to enter onto the premises and to search the premises and any person found on the
                premises and to seize any material.
(4)
A warrant issued under subsection (3) shall not authorize any entry, search or
                seizure other than such entry, search or seizure as, but for
section 83
,
                would be or could have been authorized under the provision mentioned in subsection
                (1).
(5)
The further conditions mentioned in subsection
(3
)(
a
)(
ii)
are—
(a)
that it is not practicable to communicate with any person entitled to grant
                    entry to the premises to which the application relates;
(b)
that while it might be practicable to communicate with a person entitled to
                    grant entry to the premises, it is not practicable to communicate with any
                    person entitled to grant access to the material;
(c)
that service of notice of an application for an order under
section
                        84(2)
may seriously prejudice the investigation.
(6)
Subject to subsection (7), it shall be a term of any warrant issued under this
                section that a person who seizes journalistic material pursuant to the warrant shall
                seal the material upon seizure and shall hold the sealed material until otherwise
                authorized or required under
section 87
.
(7)
Subsection (6) shall not apply where the judge is satisfied that there may be
                serious prejudice to the investigation if the applicant is not permitted to have
                immediate access to the material.
(8)
Any person empowered by a warrant issued under this section
may—
(a)
use such force as may be necessary to enter the premises specified in the
                    warrant;
(b)
on the premises, seize such material, including journalistic material, as
                    may be found and as but for
section 83
he would be or could have been
                    authorized under the provision mentioned in subsection (1) to take possession
                    of;
(c)
detain for a reasonable period any person found on the premises who may
                    have such material in his possession or under his control and who if not so
                    detained may prejudice the purpose of the search.