The Armed Forces (Entry, Search and Seizure) Order 2006

Obligation to return excluded and special procedure material

8.—(1) This paragraph applies where, at any time after a seizure of anything has been made in exercise of the power under section 5 of the 2001 Act—

(a)it appears to the person for the time being having possession of the seized property in consequence of the seizure that the property—

(i)is excluded material or special procedure material, or

(ii)has any excluded material or special procedure material comprised in it,

(b)its retention is not authorised by article 9, and

(c)in a case where the material is comprised in something else which has been lawfully seized, it is not comprised in property falling within paragraph (3) or (4).

(2) Where paragraph (1) applies, it shall be the duty of the person for the time being having possession of the seized property to secure that the item is returned as soon as reasonably practicable after the seizure.

(3) Property in which any excluded material or special procedure material is comprised falls within this paragraph if—

(a)the whole or a part of the rest of the property is property for which the person seizing it had power to search when he made the seizure but is not property the return of which is required by this article or article 7; and

(b)in all the circumstances, it is not reasonably practicable for that material to be separated from the rest of that property (or, as the case may be, from that part of it) without prejudicing the use of the rest of that property, or that part of it, for purposes for which (disregarding that material) its use, if retained, would be lawful.

(4) Property in which any excluded material or special procedure material is comprised falls within this article if—

(a)the whole or a part of the rest of the property is property the retention of which is authorised by article 9; and

(b)in all the circumstances, it is not reasonably practicable for that material to be separated from the rest of that property (or, as the case may be, from that part of it) without prejudicing the use of the rest of that property, or that part of it, for purposes for which (disregarding that material) its use, if retained, would be lawful.