PART I.

Corrupt Practices.

1. —(1) The expression “corrupt practices” as used in this Act means any of the offences stated in this section to be a corrupt practice, and any person who commits any of such offences shall be guilty of a corrupt practice.

(2) The following offences as more fully defined in the following sections of this Part of this Act shall be corrupt practices, that is to say:—

(a) bribery,

(b) personation,

(c) treating,

(d) undue influence.

(3) The following offences shall also be corrupt practices, that is to say:—

(a) aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of the offence of personation;

(b) knowingly publishing, before or during a Dáil or Seanad election, a false statement of the withdrawal of a candidate at such election.

2. —The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and shall be punishable accordingly:—

(1) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself, or by any other person on his behalf, give, lend, or agree to give or lend, or shall offer, promise, or promise to procure or to endeavour to procure, any money or valuable consideration or any office, place or employment, to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter or to or for any other person, in order to induce any voter to vote, or to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting, or shall corruptly do any such act as aforesaid, on account of such voter having voted or voted in a particular way or refrained from voting at any election;

(2) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf make any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement as aforesaid, to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure, or endeavour to procure, the return of any person to serve in the Oireachtas, or the vote of any voter at any election;

(3) Every person who shall, upon or in consequence of any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement, or agreement, procure or engage, promise, or endeavour to procure the return of any person to serve in the Oireachtas, or the vote of any voter at any election;

(4) Every person who shall advance or pay, or cause to be paid, any money to or to the use of any other person with the intent that such money or any part thereof shall be expended in bribery at any election, or who shall knowingly pay or cause to be paid any money to any person in discharge or repayment of any money wholly or in part expended in bribery at any election;

(5) Every voter who shall, before or during any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive, agree, or contract for any money, gift, loan, or valuable consideration, office, place or employment, for himself or for any other person, for voting or agreeing to vote in a particular way or for refraining or agreeing to refrain from voting, or from voting in a particular way, at any election;

(6) Every person who shall, after any election, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, receive any money or valuable consideration on account of any person having voted or refrained from voting, or having induced any other person to vote or to refrain from voting, at any election;

(7) Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, corruptly induce or procure any person to withdraw from being a candidate at a Dáil or a Seanad election in consideration of any gift, loan, payment, office, place or employment or of any promise of any gift, loan, payment, office, place or employment;

(8) Every person who shall withdraw from being a candidate at a Dáil or a Seanad election in pursuance of any such inducement or procurement as aforesaid:

Provided always that this section shall not extend or be construed to extend to any money paid or agreed to be paid for or on account of any legal expenses bonâ fide incurred at or concerning any election.

3. —Every person who at an election applies for a ballot paper in the name of some other person, whether that name be the name of a living person or of a dead person or of a fictitious person, or who having voted once at an election applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name, shall be guilty of the offence of personation.

4. —(1) Any person who corruptly by himself or by any other person, either before, during, or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expenses of giving or providing, any meat, drink, entertainment or provision to or for any person, for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to give or refrain from giving his vote at the election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting, or being about to vote or refrain from voting at such election, shall be guilty of treating.

(2) Every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section shall also be guilty of treating.

5. —Every person who shall, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, make use of or threaten to make use of any force, violence, or restraint, or inflict or threaten to inflict, by himself or by any other person, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person in order to induce or compel such person to vote or refrain from voting at any election or to withdraw from being a candidate at any election or on account of such person having voted or refrained from voting or having been or withdrawn from being a candidate at any election, or who shall by abduction, duress, or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent the free exercise of the franchise by any elector, or compel, induce, or prevail upon any elector either to give or to refrain from giving his vote at any election, or who shall by abduction, duress or any fraudulent device or contrivance impede or prevent any person from being a candidate at an election, or compel, induce or prevail upon any person to withdraw from being a candidate at an election, shall be guilty of undue influence.

6. —(1) A person who commits any corrupt practice other than personation, or aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of the offence of personation, shall on summary conviction be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding one year.

(2) A person who commits the offence of personation, or of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of that offence shall—

(a) in the case of a first offence be liable, on summary conviction, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than two months nor more than twelve months, and to be fined a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds;

(b) in the case of a second or any subsequent offence be liable, on summary conviction to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than six months and not more than twelve months and to be fined a sum not exceeding one hundred pounds, or on conviction on indictment to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a term of not less than six months nor more than twelve months or to be sent to penal servitude for a term of three years, and in either case to be fined a sum of not exceeding two hundred pounds.

(3) A person who is convicted of any corrupt practice shall (in addition to the punishments mentioned in the foregoing sub-sections) be incapable during a period of seven years from the date of his conviction—

(a) of being registered as a Dáil, Seanad or Local Government elector; or

(b) of voting at a Dáil, Seanad or Local Government election or at a Referendum; or

(c) of voting at an election for any public office; or

(d) of holding any public or judicial office; and if any such person at the date of his conviction holds any public or judicial office, such office shall thereupon be vacated.

(4) A person who is convicted of any corrupt practice shall (in addition to the punishments and incapacities mentioned in the foregoing sub-sections) be incapable during a period of seven years from the date of his conviction of being a member of or elected to Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann or any local authority and if at the date of such conviction such person is a member of or has been elected to Dáil Eireann or Seanad Eireann or any Local Authority he shall as from such date cease to be a member thereof and his election thereto shall as from such date be void.

(5) In this section the expression “public office” means membership of any local authority, and the expression “judicial office” means the office of every judge who is required by Article 68 of the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann to be appointed by the Representative of the Crown on the advice of the Executive Council.

7. —(1) Whenever an election court reports that any corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to any election to either House of the Oireachtas by or with the knowledge and consent of any candidate at such election, such candidate shall for ever be incapable of being elected to or being a member of the Oireachtas, and if he has been elected to either House of the Oireachtas, his election shall be void, and he shall also be subject to the same incapacities as if at the date of the report he had been convicted of a corrupt practice.

(2) Whenever an election court reports that any corrupt practice has been proved to have been committed in reference to an election to either House of the Oireachtas by any agent of a candidate at such election, such candidate shall, during a period of seven years from the date of the report, be incapable of being elected to or being a member of the Oireachtas and, if he has been elected to either House of the Oireachtas, his election shall be void.