Article 18 Defence of due diligence

In any proceedings for an offence under articles 13, 16 or 17 of this Order, it shall be a defence for the Council to prove that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence.

If in any case the defence made under paragraph (1) of this article involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person, the Council shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period ending seven clear days before the hearing, they have served on the prosecutors a notice in writing giving such information as was then in their possession identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person.