(1) An application for
a freezing order may be made by telephone if, in the opinion of the applicant,
the order is urgently required and there is not enough time to make the
application personally.
(2) If an application
for a freezing order is made by telephone—
(a) the
applicant must inform the magistrate—
(i)
of the applicant's name and rank; and
(ii)
that he or she is an authorised police officer for the
purposes of this Part,
and the magistrate, on receiving that information, is entitled to assume,
without further inquiry, that the applicant is so authorised; and
(b) the
applicant must inform the magistrate of the purpose for which the order is
required, the grounds on which it is sought and any other information that the
magistrate is required to have regard to in considering an application for a
freezing order; and
(c) if
it appears to the magistrate from the information given by the applicant that
it would be appropriate to make a freezing order, the magistrate must inform
the applicant of the facts that justify, in the magistrate's opinion, the
making of the order, and must not proceed to make the order unless the
applicant undertakes to make an affidavit verifying those facts; and
(d) if
the applicant gives such an undertaking, the magistrate may then make the
order, noting on the order the facts that justify, in the magistrate's
opinion, the making of the order and informing the applicant of the terms of
the order; and
(e) the
applicant must, as soon as practicable after the making of the order, forward
to the magistrate an affidavit verifying the facts referred to in
paragraph (c); and
(f) the
magistrate must, as soon as practicable after the making of the order, forward
to the applicant a copy of the order.
(3) A magistrate who
makes an order under this section must file the order, or a copy of the order,
and the affidavit verifying the grounds on which the application for the order
was made, in the Magistrates Court.