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Safeguarding National Security Ordinance Part 4—Division 1 Section 39 (2) For the purposes of this Division, a disclosure by a government contractor is made with lawful authority if, and only if, it is made—
 * (a) in accordance with an official authorization; or
 * (b) for the purposes of the functions by virtue of which the contractor is a government contractor and without contravening an official restriction.

(3) For the purposes of this Division, a disclosure by a person who is neither a public officer nor a government contractor is made with lawful authority if, and only if, it is made in accordance with an official authorization.

(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under section 35, 36 or 37 to establish that, at the time of the alleged offence, the person believed that the person had lawful authority to make the disclosure and had no reasonable grounds to believe otherwise.

(5) A person is taken to have established a matter that needs to be established for a defence under subsection (4) if— (a) there is sufficient evidence to raise an issue with respect to that matter; and (b) the contrary is not proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.

(6) In this section—

official authorization (正式授權) means an authorization duly given by a public officer or government contractor;

official restriction (正式限制) means a restriction duly imposed by a public officer or government contractor.

39. Safeguarding of information

(1) Subsection (2) applies if—