{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/data-protection-act-1984-repealed-132000/section-19",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/data-protection-act-1984-repealed-132000/section-19.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1984/35",
  "legislation_title": "Data Protection Act 1984 (repealed 1.3.2000)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/data-protection-act-1984-repealed-132000",
  "path": "section/19",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "19",
  "heading": "Prosecutions and penalities.",
  "text": "(1) No proceedings for an offence under this Act shall be instituted—\n(a) in England or Wales except by the Registrar or by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions;\n(b) in Northern Ireland except by the Registrar or by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.\n(2) A person guilty of an offence under any provision of this Act other than section 6 or paragraph 12 of Schedule 4 shall be liable—\n(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine; or\n(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum . . ..\n(3) A person guilty of an offence under section 6 above or the said paragraph 12 shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the fifth level on the standard scale . . ..\n(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence under section 5, 10, 12 or 15 above may order any data material appearing to the court to be connected with the commission of the offence to be forfeited, destroyed or erased.\n(5) The court shall not make an order under subsection (4) above in relation to any material where a person (other than the offender) claiming to be the owner or otherwise interested in it applies to be heard by the court unless an opportunity is given to him to show cause why the order should not be made.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 19(2)(b)(3) repealed (5.11.1993) by 1993 c. 50, s. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. XIV Group.2."
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 19(2)(b) amended by S.I. 1984/703 (N.I.3), art. 4(7)(8)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 19(3) amended by S.I. 1984/703 (N.I.3), art. 5"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/35/section/19",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:02:10.873590+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}