18. Information, evidence and hearings

(1) Where the Commissioners so agree with the competent authority of each relevant Member State, for the purposes of the procedures under Regulation 11 or 15, as the case may be, the affected person may provide the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, as the case may be, with any information, evidence or documents that may be relevant for the purposes of -

(a) the delivery by the Advisory Commission of a decision on the admissibility of the complaint concerned submitted under Regulation 11(1)(a), or

(b) the delivery of an opinion by the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, as the case may be, under Article 14 of the Directive, on how to resolve the question in dispute.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Commissioners and the affected person shall provide such information, evidence or documents as may be requested by the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, as the case may be.

(3) Paragraph (2) shall not be construed so as to impose an obligation on the Commissioners -

(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the law of the State,

(b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the law of the State,

(c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or

(d) to supply information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy.

(4) An affected person may, where the affected person requests and with the consent of the Commissioners and the competent authority of each relevant Member State, appear or be represented before the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, as the case may be.

(5) Where requested by the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, an affected person shall appear or be represented before the Advisory Commission or the ADRC, as the case may be.

(6) Information of any kind and in any form acquired, or accessed, by any member of the Advisory Commission or ADRC, as the case may be, in their capacity as such member, shall be treated as confidential and shall not be disclosed or caused to be disclosed other than in the course of discharging his or her functions as such member.

(7) An affected person and his or her representatives, if any, shall not disclose any information (including knowledge of documents) that they receive during the proceedings of the Advisory Commission or ADRC, as the case may be, and the affected person shall make a declaration to this effect to the Commissioners when requested, and in such form and manner as may be specified, by the Commissioners.

(8) (a) A person who contravenes paragraph (6) or (7), or who makes a false declaration for the purposes of paragraph (7), commits an offence.

(b) A person convicted of an offence under subparagraph (a) is liable -

(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000.

(c) Summary proceedings for an offence under subparagraph (a) may be brought and prosecuted by the Commissioners.

(d) Where an offence under subparagraph (a) is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any wilful neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, commits an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(e) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subparagraph (a) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director or manager of the body corporate.