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 (3)Where the Attorney General incurs costs in connection with an application under this Act for a declaration or a variation order, the court may make such order as it considers appropriate as to the payment of the costs by parties to the proceedings.

(4)Subsection (3) applies whether the costs are incurred by virtue of a direction under subsection (1), an intervention under section 11(2) or otherwise.

11Right to intervene

(1) The missing person’s spouse, civil partner, parent, child or sibling may intervene in proceedings on an application under this Act for a declaration or a variation order.

(2) The Attorney General may intervene in such proceedings, whether or not the court directs papers relating to the application to be sent to the Attorney General.

(3)Any other person may intervene in such proceedings only with the permission of the court.

(4)References in this section to intervening in proceedings include—

(a) arguing before the court any question in relation to the application which the court considers it necessary to have fully argued,

(b) in proceedings on an application for a declaration under this Act, seeking a determination or order under section 4, and

(c) in proceedings on an application for a variation order, seeking a determination or order under section 7.

12 Information

(1)In proceedings on an application under this Act for a declaration or a variation order, the court may by order at any stage require a person who is not a party to the proceedings to provide it with specified information that it considers relevant to the question of whether the missing person is alive or dead.

(2) It may do so only where it considers it necessary for the purpose of disposing of the proceedings.

(3) It may do so on the application of a party to the proceedings or without such an application being made.

(4) The order may not require the provision of information—

(a) which is permitted or required by any rule of law to be withheld on grounds of public interest immunity,

(b) which any person would be entitled to refuse to provide on grounds of legal professional privilege, or

(c) whose provision might incriminate the person providing it, or that person’s spouse or civil partner, of an offence.

(5) Before making an order under this section, the court must send notice of its intention to make the order to any person who, in its opinion, is likely to be affected by the order.

(6) The court may discharge or vary an order made under this section on an application made by any person who, in the opinion of the court, is affected by it.