Section 48. Offences by companies

48. Offences by companies. —(1) Where any offence under Chapter VI has been committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, or was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under Chapter VI has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation . —For the purposes of this section,— (a) "company" means any body corporate, and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) "director", in relation to a firm, means a partner of the firm. 48. In carrying out an inventory, within the time available, inspectors shall have the right: - (a) To use any of the following inspection techniques: - (i) inventory all the chemical weapons stored at the facility; (ii) inventory all the chemical weapons stored in specific buildings or locations at the facility, as chosen by the inspectors; or (iii) inventory all the chemical weapons of one or more specific types stored at the facility, as chosen by the inspectors; and (b) To check all items inventoried against agreed records. 49. Inspectors shall, in accordance with facility agreements: (a) Have unimpeded access to all parts of the storage facilities including any munitions, devices, bulk containers, or other containers therein. While conducting their activity, inspectors shall comply with the safety regulations at the facility. The items to be inspected will be chosen by the inspectors; and (b) Have the right, during the first and any subsequent inspection of each chemical weapons storage facility, to designate munitions, devices, and containers from which samples are to be taken, and to affix to such munitions, devices, and containers a unique tag that will indicate an attempt to remove or alter the tag. A sample shall be taken from a tagged item at a chemical weapons storage facility or a chemical weapons destruction facility as soon as it is practically possible in accordance with the corresponding destruction programmes, and, in any case, not later than by the end of the destruction operations. Systematic verification of the destruction of chemical weapons 48. The Organization shall enjoy on the territory and in any other place under the jurisdiction or control of a State Party such legal capacity and such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the exercise of its functions. 48. The purpose of the systematic verification of a chemical weapons production facility shall be to ensure that any resumption of production of chemical weapons or removal of declared items will be detected at this facility. 48. In conformity with the relevant provisions in the Confidentiality Annex the inspected State Party shall have the right to take measures to protect sensitive installations and prevent disclosure of confidential information and data not related to chemical weapons. Such measures may include, inter alia : - (a) Removal of sensitive papers from office spaces; (b) Shrouding of sensitive displays, stores, and equipment; (c) Shrouding of sensitive pieces of equipment, such as computer or electronic systems; (d) Logging off of computer systems and turning off of data indicating devices; (e) Restriction of sample analysis to presence or absence of chemicals listed in Schedules 1, 2 and 3 or appropriate degradation products; (f) Using random selective access techniques whereby the inspectors are requested to select a given percentage or number of buildings of their choice to inspect; the same principle can apply to the interior and content of sensitive buildings; (g) In exceptional cases, giving only individual inspectors access to certain parts of the inspection site.