(1)
Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), where in any civil or criminal proceedings before a court (including any proceedings under section 116 but not including proceedings under section 67) a question arises whether any publication—
is objectionable; or
is objectionable except in any 1 or more of the following circumstances:
if the availability of the publication is restricted to persons who have attained a specified age:
if the availability of the publication is restricted to specified persons or classes of persons:
if the publication is used for 1 or more specified purposes,—
the court shall refer the question to the Classification Office for decision, and the Classification Office shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the question.
(2)
Where in any civil or criminal proceedings the defendant admits that a publication—
is objectionable except in any 1 or more of the circumstances referred to in subsection (1)(b),—
the court may accept that admission and dispense with a reference to the Classification Office.
(3)
Where the Classification Office or the Board has classified a publication under this Act, the production in any proceedings of a copy, certified by the Classification Office, of the entry in the register recording that decision, together with a certificate from the Classification Office that the decision is still in force, shall be sufficient proof in any court of the decision, and if that decision is conclusive proof of the classification of that publication under section 41, the court shall dispense with a reference to the Classification Office in those proceedings.
Compare: 1963 No 22 s 12; 1987 No 85 s 20; 1990 No 59 s 4
Section 29(1): amended, on 5 December 2017, by section 7 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Interim Restriction Orders) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 43).