{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defence-contracts-act-1958/section-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defence-contracts-act-1958/section-3.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Eliz2/6-7/38",
  "legislation_title": "Defence Contracts Act 1958",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defence-contracts-act-1958",
  "path": "section/3",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Procedure in connection with authorisations under s. 2.",
  "text": "(1) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a competent authority shall, before giving to any person an authorisation under section two of this Act in respect of any restriction or obligation, serve on that person a notice in writing requesting him to treat with the party entitled to enforce that restriction or obligation for such waiver or modification as will enable the technical information to be used or the articles supplied upon terms approved by the competent authority; and the authorisation shall not be given unless either—\n(a) at the expiration of such period, not being less than three months beginning with the date of the service of the notice, as may be specified therein, no agreement for such waiver or modification as aforesaid has been concluded to the satisfaction of the competent authority; or\n(b) before the expiration of the said period, the person on whom the notice was served has given notice in writing to the competent authority that no such agreement is likely to be concluded within that period.\n(2) Where an authorisation is given under the said section two in respect of any restriction or obligation, the competent authority shall, subject to subsection (3) of this section, give notice to that effect to the person who, apart from the authorisation, would be entitled to enforce that restriction or obligation, and to such other persons (if any) as appear to the authority, after making such enquiries as are reasonably practicable in the circumstances, to be persons whose interests are affected by the authorisation.\n(3) An authorisation under the said section two may be given by a competent authority without compliance with subsection (1) of this section in any case where it appears to the authority, and is certified in the authorisation, that the disclosure of the production or supply of the defence materials concerned would be prejudicial to the safety of the State; and in any such case—\n(a) the competent authority shall not be required to give notice of the authorisation in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section unless and until they are satisifed that the disclosure would no longer be prejudicial as aforesaid; and\n(b) unless and until the competent authority, being satisfied as aforesaid, otherwise direct, the person to whom the authorisation is given shall be discharged thereby from any obligation to which he would otherwise be subject by virtue of any agreement to give information to any other person in respect of the use of the information or the supply of articles to which the authorisation relates.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/6-7/38/section/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:12:56.442143+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."
}