Section 672.51 — Criminal Code: Definition of disposition information

In this section, disposition information means all or part of an assessment report submitted to the court or Review Board and any other written information before the court or Review Board about the accused that is relevant to making or reviewing a disposition. Subject to this section, all disposition information shall be made available for inspection by, and the court or Review Board shall provide a copy of it to, each party and any counsel representing the accused. The court or Review Board shall withhold some or all of the disposition information from an accused where it is satisfied, on the basis of that information and the evidence or report of the medical practitioner responsible for the assessment or treatment of the accused, that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the life or safety of another person or would seriously impair the treatment or recovery of the accused. Notwithstanding subsection (3), the court or Review Board may release some or all of the disposition information to an accused where the interests of justice make disclosure essential in its opinion. The court or Review Board shall withhold disposition information from a party other than the accused or an Attorney General, where disclosure to that party, in the opinion of the court or Review Board, is not necessary to the proceeding and may be prejudicial to the accused. A court or Review Board that withholds disposition information from the accused or any other party pursuant to subsection (3) or (5) shall exclude the accused or the other party, as the case may be, from the hearing during the oral presentation of that disposition information; or the questioning by the court or Review Board or the cross-examination of any person concerning that disposition information. No disposition information shall be made available for inspection or disclosed to any person who is not a party to the proceedings where the disposition information has been withheld from the accused or any other party pursuant to subsection (3) or (5); or where the court or Review Board is of the opinion that disclosure of the disposition information would be seriously prejudicial to the accused and that, in the circumstances, protection of the accused takes precedence over the public interest in disclosure. No part of the record of the proceedings in respect of which the accused was excluded pursuant to subparagraph 672.5(10)(b)(ii) or (iii) shall be made available for inspection to the accused or to any person who is not a party to the proceedings. Notwithstanding subsections (7) and (8), the court or Review Board may make any disposition information, or a copy of it, available on request to any person or member of a class of persons that has a valid interest in the information for research or statistical purposes, where the court or Review Board is satisfied that disclosure is in the public interest; that has a valid interest in the information for the purposes of the proper administration of justice; or that the accused requests or authorizes in writing to inspect it, where the court or Review Board is satisfied that the person will not disclose or give to the accused a copy of any disposition information withheld from the accused pursuant to subsection (3), or of any part of the record of proceedings referred to in subsection (8), or that the reasons for withholding that information from the accused no longer exist. A person to whom the court or Review Board makes disposition information available under paragraph (9)(a) may disclose it for research or statistical purposes, but not in any form or manner that could reasonably be expected to identify any person to whom it relates. No person shall publish in any document or broadcast or transmit in any way any disposition information that is prohibited from being disclosed pursuant to subsection (7); or any part of the record of the proceedings in respect of which the accused was excluded pursuant to subparagraph 672.5(10)(b)(ii) or (iii). Except as otherwise provided in this section, nothing in this section limits the powers that a court may exercise apart from this section.