The Extradition (Hijacking) Order 1997

Made: 22nd July 1997

Laid before Parliament: 1st August 1997

Coming into force: 1st September 1997

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 22nd day of July 1997 Present, The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by sections 4(1), 22(3) and 37(3) of the Extradition Act 1989, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

1

This Order may be cited as the Extradition (Hijacking) Order 1997, and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.

2

• (1) Schedule 2 to this Order specifies in the first column foreign States which are Parties to the Convention and with which extradition treaties (and Orders in Council under section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870) are for the time being in force, in the second column the dates of those treaties, and in the third column those Orders in Council; and

• (2) Schedule 1 to the Extradition Act 1989 [^f00005] shall apply in the case of a State specified in the first column in accordance with the extradition treaty whose date is specified in the corresponding entry in the second column, as supplemented by paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 8 of the Convention; and the Order in Council which gives effect to that extradition treaty shall be construed accordingly.

3

The Extradition Act 1989, so far as it relates to extradition procedures under Part III of that Act, shall apply in the case of a State specified in Part I of Schedule 3 to this Order (being States in respect of which the Convention is in force) subject to the limitations, restrictions, exceptions and qualifications contained in Part II of that Schedule.

4

The Extradition (Hijacking) Order 1992 [^f00006] and The Extradition (Hijacking) (Amendment) Order 1993 [^f00007] are hereby revoked.

5

This Order extends only to the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and to those territories which are specified in Schedule 4 to this Order.

SCHEDULE 1 — The Convention

CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF AIRCRAFT

CONSIDERING that unlawful acts of seizure or exercise of control of aircraft in flight jeopardize the safety of persons and property, seriously affect the operation of air services, and undermine the confidence of the peoples of the world in the safety of civil aviation;

CONSIDERING that the occurrence of such acts is a matter of grave concern;

CONSIDERING that, for the purpose of deterring such acts, there is an urgent need to provide appropriate measures for punishment of offenders.

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Any person who on board an aircraft in flight:

• (a) unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seizes, or exercises control of, that aircraft, or attempts to perform any such act, or

• (b) is an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform any such act commits an offence (hereinafter referred to as “the offence”).

Article 2

Each Contracting State undertakes to make the offence punishable by severe penalties.

Article 3

1

For the purposes of this Convention, an aircraft is considered to be in flight at any time from the moment when all its external doors are closed following embarkation until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation. In the case of a force landing, the flight shall be deemed to continue until the competent authorities take over responsibility for the aircraft and for persons and property on board.

2

This Convention shall not apply to aircraft used in military, customs or police services.

3

This Convention shall apply only if the place of take-off or the place of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offence is committed is situated outside the territory of the State of registration of that aircraft: it shall be immaterial whether the aircraft is engaged in an international or domestic flight.

4

In the cases mentioned in Article 5, this Convention shall not apply if the place of take-off and the place of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offence is committed are situated within the territory of the same State where the State is one of those referred to in that article.

5

Notwithstanding paragraphs 3 and 4 of this article, Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10 shall apply whatever the place of take-off or the place of actual landing of the aircraft, if the offender or the alleged offender is found in the territory of a State other than the State of registration of that aircraft.

Article 4

Article 5

The Contracting States which establish joint air transport operating organizations or international operating agencies, which operate aircraft which are subject to joint or international registration shall, by appropriate means, designate for each aircraft the State among them which shall exercise the jurisdiction and have the attributes of the State of registration for the purpose of this Convention and shall give notice thereof to the International Civil Aviation Organization which shall communicate the notice to all States Parties to the Convention.

Article 6

Article 7

The Contracting State in the territory of which the alleged offender is found shall, if it does not extradite him, be obliged, without exception whatsoever and whether or not the offence was committed in its territory, to submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Those authorities shall take their decision in the same manner as in the case of any ordinary offence of a serious nature under the law of that State.

Article 8

Article 9

Article 10

Article 11

Each Contracting State shall in accordance with its national law report to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization as promptly as possible any relevant information in its possession concerning:

• (a) the circumstances of the offence;

• (b) the action taken pursuant to Article 9;

• (c) the measures taken in relation to the offender or the alleged offender, and, in particular, the results of any extradition proceedings or other legal proceedings.

Article 12

Article 13

6

As soon as this Convention comes into force, it shall be registered by the Depositary Governments pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations and pursuant to Article 83 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago, 1944).

Article 14

SCHEDULE 2 — FOREIGN STATES WHICH ARE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION AND IN RELATION TO WHICH ORDERS IN COUNCIL UNDER THE EXTRADITION ACT 1870 ARE IN FORCE

SCHEDULE 3

PART I — FOREIGN STATES WHICH ARE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION AND WITH WHICH NO EXTRADITION TREATIES ARE IN FORCE

PART II — APPLICATION OF THE EXTRADITION ACT 1989 IN THE CASE OF A STATE MENTIONED IN PART I

1

The Extradition Act 1989[^f00008] shall have effect in relation to a State specified in Part I of this Schedule only in respect of—

• (a) an offence mentioned in section 22(4)(b) of that Act;

• (b) an attempt to commit such an offence;

• (c) counselling, procuring, commanding, aiding or abetting such an offence;

• (d) being an accessory before or after the fact to such an offence.

2

No proceeding shall be taken on an application for a provisional warrant to be issued under section 8(1)(b) of the 1989 Act, and no such warrant shall be issued, unless the application is made with the consent of the Secretary of State signified by an Order in the form set out in Part III of this Schedule or in a form to the like effect; but except as aforesaid the signification of consent shall not affect the provisions of the said section 8.

PART III

FORM OF CONSENT OF SECRETARY OF STATE TO APPLICATION FOR A PROVISIONAL WARRANT

SCHEDULE 4 — TERRITORIES TO WHICH THIS ORDER EXTENDS

• Anguilla

• Bermuda

• British Antarctic Territory

• British Indian Ocean Territory

• British Virgin Islands

• Cayman Islands

• Falkland Islands and Dependencies

• Gibraltar

• Montserrat

• Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

• St. Helena and Dependencies

• Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

• Turks and Caicos Islands

Signed

N. H. Nicholls — Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order applies the Extradition Act 1989 (c. 33) so as to make extraditable offences under section 1 of the Aviation Security Act 1982 (c. 36) (hijacking), attempts to commit such offences and participation in the commission of such offences. It applies to certain States, Parties to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16th December 1970.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: Cmnd. 4956.

[^f00002]: 1870 c. 52; the Act was repealed by the Extradition Act 1989 with the savings set out in section 37 of that Act. For the purpose of those savings the Act has to be read with section 22(1) of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (c. 5).

[^f00003]: 1989 c. 33.

[^f00004]: 1870 c. 52.

[^f00005]: Paragraph 15 of Schedule 1 was amended by section 22 of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990.

[^f00006]: S.I. 1992/3200.

[^f00007]: S.I. 1993/1574.

[^f00008]: 1989 c. 33.