Protection of Aviation (Tokyo, Hague and Montreal Conventions) Act (The Bahamas)

Protection of Aviation (Tokyo, Hague and Montreal Conventions) Act

Published: 1985-01-04

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PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

[CH.285 – 1

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– [Original Service 2001] STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

CHAPTER 285

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY

SECTION 1. Short title. 2. Interpretation.

PART II PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE TOKYO

CONVENTION 3. Interpretation of Part II. 4. Application of criminal law to aircraft. 5. Extension of local criminal jurisdiction. 6. Powers of commander of aircraft. 7. Jurisdiction of Convention countries for extradition purposes. 8. Provisions as to evidence in connection with aircraft.

PART III PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE HAGUE

CONVENTION 9. Hijacking. 10. Violence against passengers or crew. 11. Extradition for hijacking.

PART IV PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE MONTREAL

CONVENTION 12. Interpretation of Part IV. 13. Destroying, damaging or endangering safety of aircraft. 14. Other acts endangering or likely to endanger aircraft. 15. Inducing or assisting commission of acts excepted from sections 13

and 14. 16. Penalties and jurisdiction. 17. Extradition for offences under this Part. 18. No conferment of civil remedy under this Part; Saving.

CH.285 – 2] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

PART V GENERAL

19. Extradition. 20. Aircraft operated by joint or international organization. 21. Minister’s certificate as to use of aircraft. 22. Prosecution of offence. 23. Powers exercisable on suspicion of intended offence. 24. Piracy. 25. Repeal.

SCHEDULE — Provisions of Geneva Convention on the High Seas to be Treated as Part of the Law of Nations

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

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CHAPTER 285

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

An Act to give effect to the convention for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of civil aviation and to consolidate the law relating to matters affecting the security of civil aviation.

[Assent 31st December, 1984] [Commencement 4th January, 1985]

PART I PRELIMINARY

1. This Act may be cited as the Protection of Aviation (Tokyo, Hague and Montreal Conventions) Act.

2. (1) In this Act — “Immigration Officer” has the meaning assigned to it

in section 2(1) of the Immigration Act; “service aircraft” means any aircraft which is used in

the military, customs or police service of any country.

(2) Any reference to the Extradition Act shall be construed as a reference to the Extradition Act.

(3) Any reference to “military service” includes a reference to naval or air force service.

PART II PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE TOKYO

CONVENTION 3. (1) In this Part — “aircraft” means any aircraft, whether or not a

Bahamian-controlled aircraft, but with the exception — (a) of any service aircraft: Provided that the Minister may, by order,

direct that any of the provisions of this Part

24 of 1984

Short title.

Interpretation.

Ch. 191.

Ch. 96.

Interpretation of Part II.

CH.285 – 4] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

shall apply, with or without modification, to any service aircraft, other than an aircraft which is used in military service;

(b) of any aircraft (other than service aircraft) to the exclusive use of which the Government is entitled;

“Bahamian-controlled aircraft” means an aircraft — (a) which is for the time being registered in

The Bahamas; or (b) which is not for the time being registered

in any country but in the case of which either the operator of the aircraft or each person entitled as owner to any legal or beneficial interest in it —

(i) is a person qualified to be the owner of a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in The Bahamas; and

(ii) resides or has his principal place of business in The Bahamas; or

(c) which, being registered in some other country is demised or hired out to a person who, or to persons each of whom, satisfies the requirements set out in paragraph (b)(i) and (ii);

“commander”, in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the crew designated as the commander of that aircraft by the operator thereof, or failing such a person the person who is for the time being lawfully the pilot in command of the aircraft;

“Convention country” means a country in which the Convention is for the time being in force, and a certificate of the Minister charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs that any country specified in the certificate is a Convention country for the purposes of this Act shall be conclusive evidence that the country in question is for the time being a Convention country;

“operator”, in relation to an aircraft at any time, means the person who at the time has lawfully the management of that aircraft;

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“pilot in command”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who for the time being is lawfully in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft;

“the Convention” means the Convention on Offences and certain other Acts committed on board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14th September, 1963.

(2) For the purposes of this Part, the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include —

(a) any period from the moment when the power is applied for the purpose of the aircraft taking off on a flight until the moment when the landing run (if any) at the termination of that flight ends; and

(b) for the purposes of section 6 — (i) any further period from the moment when

all external doors, if any, of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation after that flight; and

(ii) if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any period thereafter until the time when the competent authorities of the country in which the landing takes place take over the responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board (being, if the forced landing takes place in The Bahamas, the time when a peace officer acting in the execution of his functions, arrives at the place of landing),

and any reference in this Part to an aircraft in flight includes a reference to an aircraft during any period when it is on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any country.

(3) In this Part, any reference to a country or the territorial limits thereof includes a reference to the territorial waters, if any, of that country.

CH.285 – 6] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

4. (1) Any act taking place on board a Bahamian- controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over The Bahamas and which, if taking place in The Bahamas, would constitute an offence under the law in force in The Bahamas shall constitute that offence:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any act which is, by or under that law, expressly or impliedly authorised when taking place outside The Bahamas.

(2) No proceedings for any offence under the law in force in The Bahamas committed on board an aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over The Bahamas (other than an offence against the Civil Aviation Act, or any orders or regulations made thereunder or as mentioned in section 20 thereof) shall be instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney-General.

5. For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, any offence under the law in force in The Bahamas, being an offence committed on board an aircraft in flight, shall be deemed to have been committed in any place in The Bahamas where the offender may for the time being be.

6. (1) The provisions of subsections (2) to (5) shall have effect for the purposes of any proceedings before any court in The Bahamas.

(2) If the commander of an aircraft in flight, wherever that aircraft may be, has reasonable grounds to believe in respect of any person on board the aircraft —

(a) that the person in question has done or is about to do any act on the aircraft while it is in flight which jeopardises or may jeopardise —

(i) the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft; or

(ii) good order and discipline on board the aircraft; or

(b) that the person in question has done on the aircraft while in flight any act which in the opinion of the commander is a serious offence under any law in force in the country in which the aircraft is registered, not being a law of a political nature or based on racial or religious discrimination,

Application of criminal law to aircraft.

Ch. 284.

Extension of local criminal jurisdiction.

Powers of commander of aircraft.

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then subject to subsection (4) the commander may take with respect to that person such reasonable measures, including restraint of his person, as may be necessary — (i) to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons

or property on board the aircraft; or (ii) to maintain good order and discipline on board

the aircraft; or (iii) to enable the commander to disembark or

deliver that person in accordance with subsection (5),

and for the purposes of paragraph (b) any Bahamian- controlled aircraft shall be deemed to be registered in The Bahamas whether or not it is in fact so registered and whether or not it is in fact registered in some other country.

(3) Any member of the crew of an aircraft and any other person on board the aircraft may, at the request or with the authority of the commander of the aircraft, and any such member shall if so required by that commander, render assistance in restraining any person whom the commander is entitled under subsection (2) to restrain; and at any time when the aircraft is in flight any such member or other person may, without obtaining the authority of the commander, take with respect to any person on board the aircraft any measures such as are mentioned in subsection (2) which he has reasonable grounds to believe are immediately necessary to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft.

(4) Any restraint imposed on any person on board an aircraft under the powers conferred by the foregoing provisions of this section shall not be continued after the time when the aircraft first thereafter ceases to be in flight unless before or as soon as is reasonably practicable after that time, the commander of the aircraft causes notification of the fact that a person on board the aircraft is under restraint, and of the reasons therefor, to be sent to an appropriate authority of the country in which the aircraft so ceases to be in flight, but subject to such notification may be continued after that time —

(a) for any period (including the period of any further flight) between that time and the first occasion thereafter on which the commander is

CH.285 – 8] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

able with any requisite consent of the appropriate authorities to disembark or deliver the person under restraint in accordance with subsection (5); or

(b) if the person under restraint agrees to continue his journey under restraint on board that aircraft.

(5) The commander of an aircraft — (a) if in the case of any person on board the aircraft

he has reasonable grounds — (i) to believe as mentioned in paragraph (a) of

subsection (2); and (ii) to believe that it is necessary so to do in

order to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft or to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft, may disembark that person in any country in which that aircraft may be; and

(b) if in the case of any person on board the aircraft he has reasonable grounds to believe as mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), may deliver that person —

(i) in The Bahamas, to a peace officer or immigration officer; or

(ii) in any country which is a Convention country, to an officer having functions corresponding to the functions in The Bahamas either of a peace officer or of an immigration officer.

(6) The commander of an aircraft — (a) if he disembarks any person in pursuance of

paragraph (a) of subsection (5), in the case of a Bahamian-controlled aircraft, in any country or, in the case of any other aircraft, in The Bahamas, shall report the fact of, and the reasons for, that disembarkation to —

(i) an appropriate authority in the country of disembarkation; and

(ii) the appropriate diplomatic or consular office of the country of nationality of that person;

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

[CH.285 – 9

(b) if he intends to deliver any person in accordance with paragraph (b) of subsection (5) in The Bahamas or, in the case of a Bahamian- controlled aircraft, in any other country which is a Convention country, shall before or as soon as reasonably practicable after landing give notification of his intention and of the reasons therefor —

(i) where the country in question is The Bahamas, to a peace officer or immigration officer or, in the case of any other country, to an officer having functions corresponding to the functions in The Bahamas either of a peace officer or of an immigration officer; and

(ii) in either case to the appropriate diplomatic or consular officer of the country of nationality of that person,

and any commander of an aircraft who without reasonable cause fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of five hundred dollars.

7. For the purposes of the application of the Extradition Act to crimes committed on board an aircraft in flight, any aircraft registered in a Convention country shall, at any time, while that aircraft is in flight, be deemed to be within the jurisdiction of that country whether or not it is for the time being also within the jurisdiction of any other country; and paragraphs (1) to (3) of section 16 of the Extradition Act shall have effect also where a person’s surrender is sought in respect of a crime committed on board an aircraft in flight which lands in The Bahamas, but as if in paragraph (3) for references to the port where the vessel lies there were substituted references to the place at which the person whose surrender is sought is disembarked.

8. (1) Where, in proceedings before any court in The Bahamas for an offence committed on board an aircraft, the testimony of any person is required and the court is satisfied that such person cannot be found in The Bahamas, there shall, subject to subsection (2), be admissible in evidence before that court any deposition

Jurisdiction of Convention countries for extradition purposes. Ch. 96.

Provisions as to evidence in connection with aircraft.

CH.285 – 10] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

relating to the subject matter of those proceedings, previously made on oath by that person outside The Bahamas and which was so made —

(a) in the presence of the person charged with the offence; and

(b) before a judge or magistrate of any country in the Commonwealth or before any consular officer within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act.

(2) Any such deposition shall be authenticated by the signature of the judge, magistrate or officer aforesaid before whom it was made, and shall be certified by him to have been taken in the presence of the person charged as aforesaid.

(3) It shall not be necessary in any proceedings to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing to have authenticated any deposition, or to have given such a certificate, as aforesaid; and such a certificate shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence in any proceedings that the person charged as aforesaid was present at the making of the deposition.

(4) If a complaint is made to such an officer as aforesaid that any offence has been committed on a Bahamian-controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over The Bahamas, it shall be lawful for that officer to inquire into the case upon oath.

(5) In this section, the expression “deposition” includes any affidavit, affirmation or statement made upon oath; and nothing in this section shall prejudice the admission as evidence of any deposition which is admissible in evidence apart from this section.

PART III PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE HAGUE

CONVENTION 9. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person on board an

aircraft in flight who unlawfully, by use of force or threats of any kind, seizes the aircraft or exercises control of it, commits the offence of hijacking, whatever his nationality, whatever the State in which the aircraft is registered, and whether the aircraft is in The Bahamas or elsewhere.

Ch. 268.

Hijacking.

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(2) If — (a) the aircraft is a service aircraft; or (b) both the place of take-off and the place of

landing are in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is registered,

subsection (1) shall not apply unless — (i) the person seizing or exercising control of the

aircraft is a citizen of The Bahamas; or (ii) his act is committed in The Bahamas; or (iii) the aircraft is registered in The Bahamas or is a

Bahamian service aircraft. (3) A person who — (a) commits the offence of hijacking; or (b) in The Bahamas, induces or assists the

commission elsewhere of an act which would be the offence of hijacking but for subsection (2),

shall be liable on conviction on information to imprisonment for life.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include any period from the moment when all its external doors are closed following embarkation until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation, and, in the case of a forced landing, any period until the competent authorities of the State in which that landing takes place take over responsibility for the aircraft and for persons and property on board (being, if the forced landing takes place in The Bahamas, the time when a peace officer acting in the execution of his functions, arrives at the place of landing).

(5) In relation to any offence of hijacking committed outside The Bahamas section 5 shall apply and for the purpose of such application in respect of a service aircraft paragraph (a) of the definition of aircraft in section 3(1) shall be deemed to have been omitted.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the territorial waters of any State shall be treated as part of its territory.

10. Without prejudice to section 4, where a person (of whatever nationality) does on board any aircraft (wherever registered) and while outside The Bahamas any act which,

Violence against passengers or crew.

CH.285 – 12] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

if done in The Bahamas, would constitute the offence of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter or assault or an offence under section 269, 270, 272, 273, 274, 275 or 276 of the Penal Code, or section 3 of the Explosive Substances (Illegal Use and Possession) Act, or section 34 of the Firearms Act, his act shall constitute that offence if it is done in connection with the offence of hijacking committed or attempted by him on board that aircraft.

11. (1) The list of extradition crimes in the Extradition Act shall be deemed to include any offence under this Part and (so far as not included in that list by virtue of the foregoing) any attempt to commit such an offence.

(2) Subject to sections 19(1) and 25(2), where the Extradition Act does not apply in the case of any foreign State which is a party to the Convention, an order providing for the Extradition Act to apply in the case of that State may be made with like effect and subject to like terms and conditions as if authorised by section 4 of that Act and, for the purposes of any such order, the Convention shall be treated as an arrangement such as mentioned in that section:

Provided that where the Extradition Act applies by virtue of an order under this subsection, no such application shall relate to any extradition crimes within the meaning of the Extradition Act except offences under this Part and attempts to commit such offences.

(3) In this section “the Convention” means the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft signed at The Hague on 16th December, 1970.

PART IV PROVISIONS GIVING EFFECT TO THE

MONTREAL CONVENTION 12. (1) In this Part — “act of violence” means — (a) any act done in The Bahamas —

(i) which constitutes the offence of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, or an assault or an offence under sections 269, 270, 272, 273, 274, 275 or 276 of the Penal Code or section 34 of the Firearms Act; or

Ch. 84. Ch. 216. Ch. 213.

Extradition for hijacking. Ch. 96.

Ch. 96.

Interpretation of Part IV.

Ch. 84. Ch. 213.

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(ii) whereby an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life, or to cause serious injury to property, is maliciously caused by means of any explosive substance, whether or not any injury to person or property is actually caused; or

(b) any act done outside The Bahamas which, if done in The Bahamas, would constitute an act of violence within the meaning assigned to that expression by paragraph (a);

“article” includes any substance, whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour;

“explosive substance” includes any materials or apparatus for making any explosive substance, any apparatus, machine, implement or article or materials used, or intended to be used, or adapted for causing or aiding in causing, any explosion in or with any explosive substance and any part of any such apparatus, machine or implement;

“property” includes any land, buildings or works, any aircraft or vehicle and any baggage, cargo or other article of any description;

“unlawfully” — (a) in relation to the commission of an act in The

Bahamas, means so as (apart from the provisions of this Part) to constitute an offence under the law of The Bahamas;

(b) in relation to the commission of an act outside The Bahamas, means so that the commission of the act would (apart from the provisions of this Part) have been an offence under the law of The Bahamas if it had been committed in The Bahamas.

(2) The provisions of section 9(4) shall apply in relation to this Part as they apply in relation to Part III.

(3) For the purposes of this Part, an aircraft shall be taken to be in service during the whole of the period which begins with the pre-flight preparation of the aircraft for a flight and ends twenty-four hours after the aircraft lands upon completion of that flight, and also at any time (not falling within that period) while the aircraft is in flight.

CH.285 – 14] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

13. (1) It shall, subject to subsection (4), be an offence for any person unlawfully and intentionally —

(a) to destroy an aircraft in service or so to damage an aircraft in service as to render it incapable of flight or as to be likely to endanger its safety in flight; or

(b) to commit on board an aircraft in flight any act of violence which is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft.

(2) It shall also, subject to subsection (4), be an offence for any person unlawfully and intentionally to place, or cause to be placed, on an aircraft in service any device or substance which is likely to destroy the aircraft, or is likely so to damage it as to render it incapable of flight or as to be likely to endanger its safety in flight, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the circumstances in which the commission of any act —

(a) may constitute an offence under subsection (1); or

(b) may constitute attempting or conspiring to commit, or aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring, the commission of such an offence.

(3) Except as provided by subsection (4), subsections (1) and (2) apply whether any such act as is therein mentioned is committed in The Bahamas or elsewhere, whatever the nationality of the person committing the act and whatever the State in which the aircraft is registered.

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to any act committed in relation to any service aircraft unless —

(a) the act is committed in The Bahamas; or (b) where the act is committed outside The

Bahamas, the person committing it is a citizen of The Bahamas.

14. (1) It shall, subject to subsections (5) and (6), be an offence for any person unlawfully and intentionally to destroy or damage any property to which this subsection applies, or to interfere with the operation of any such property, where the destruction, damage or interference is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight.

(2) Subsection (1) applies to any property used for the provision of air navigation facilities, including any land, building or ship so used, and including any apparatus or equipment so used, whether it is on board an aircraft or elsewhere.

Destroying, damaging or endangering safety of aircraft.

Other acts endangering or likely to endanger aircraft.

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(3) It shall also, subject to subsections (4) and (5), be an offence for any person intentionally to communicate any information which is false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular, where the communication of the information endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight or is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight.

(4) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (3) to prove that, when he communicated the information —

(a) he believed and had reasonable grounds for believing, the information to be true; or

(b) he was lawfully employed to perform duties which consisted of or included the communication of information and that he communicated the information in good faith in the performance of those duties.

(5) Subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to the commission of any act unless either the act is committed in The Bahamas or, where it is committed outside The Bahamas —

(a) the person committing it is a citizen of The Bahamas; or

(b) the commission of the act endangers or is likely to endanger the safety in flight of a civil aircraft registered in The Bahamas or demised or hired out to a person whose principal place of business, or (if he has no place of business) whose permanent residence, is in The Bahamas; or

(d) the act is committed on board a civil aircraft which lands in The Bahamas with the person who committed the act still on board.

(6) Subsection (1) also does not apply to any act committed outside The Bahamas and so committed in relation to property which is situated outside The Bahamas and is not used for the provision of air navigation facilities in connection with international air navigation, unless the person committing the act is a citizen of The Bahamas.

CH.285 – 16] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

(7) In this section “civil aircraft” means any aircraft, other than a service aircraft.

15. (1) It shall be an offence for any person in The Bahamas to induce or assist the commission outside The Bahamas of any act which —

(a) would, but for section 13(4) be an offence under section 13; or

(b) would, but for subsection (5) or (6) of section 14, be an offence under section 14.

(2) Subsection (1) shall, in relation to any offence under section 13 or 14, have effect without prejudice to the provisions of sections 85 and 328 of the Penal Code.

16. (1) Any person who commits an offence under this Part shall be liable on conviction on information to imprisonment for life.

(2) Section 9(5) shall apply in relation to any offence under section 13 or 14, being an offence committed outside The Bahamas, as it applies in relation to any offence of hijacking committed outside The Bahamas.

17. (1) The list of extradition crimes in the Extradition Act shall be deemed to include any offence under this Part and (so far as not included in that list by virtue of the foregoing) any attempt to commit such an offence.

(3) In this section “the Convention” means the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation signed at Montreal on 23rd September, 1971.

Inducing or assisting commission of acts excepted from sections 13 and 14.

Penalties and jurisdiction.

Extradition for offences under this Part. Ch. 96.

Ch. 96.

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18. Nothing in the provisions of sections 13, 14 and 15 —

(a) confers a right of action in any civil proceedings in respect of any contravention of this Part; or

(b) derogates from any right of action or other remedy (whether civil or criminal) in proceedings instituted otherwise than under this Part.

PART V GENERAL

19. (1) All authority for the making of orders under sections 11 and 17 shall be vested in the Minister charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs.

(2) For the purposes of the Extradition Act, any act (wherever committed) —

(a) which is an offence under Part III or IV, or an attempt to commit such an offence, or would be such an offence or attempt but for section 9(2) or section 13(4) or subsection (5) or (6) or section 14; and

(b) which is an offence against the law of any foreign State in the case of which the Extradition Act applies,

shall be deemed to be an offence committed within the jurisdiction of that State.

20. If the Minister by order declares — (a) that any two or more States named in the order

have established an organization or agency which operates aircraft; and

(b) that one of those States has been designated to exercise the powers of the State of registration, or to be considered as the State thereof, in relation to all or any aircraft so operated,

then, for the purposes of such provisions of this Act as the order shall prescribe, the State declared under paragraph (b) shall be deemed to be the State in which all aircraft so operated, or (as the case may be) any such aircraft specified in the order, are registered.

No conferment of civil remedy under this Part; Saving.

Extradition.

Ch. 96.

Aircraft operated by joint or international organization.

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STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

21. (1) A certificate of the Minister stating whether or not —

(a) an aircraft is or was at any time a service aircraft;

(b) an aircraft is one to the exclusive use of which the Government is or was, at any time, entitled;

for the purposes of any provisions of this Act, shall be conclusive evidence of the matter so certified.

(2) Any document purporting to be such a certificate as is mentioned in subsection (1) shall he deemed to be such a certificate, unless the contrary is proved.

22. (1) No proceedings for any offence under Part III or IV shall be instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney-General.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) or in section 4(2) shall prevent the arrest, or the issue of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of any offence under this Act, or the remanding in custody or on bail of any person charged with any such offence.

(3) For the purposes of Parts III, IV and of this Part, the territorial sea of, and archipelagic waters adjacent to, The Bahamas shall be treated as included in The Bahamas.

23. Where a peace officer has reasonable cause to suspect that a person about to embark on an aircraft in The Bahamas, or a person on board such an aircraft, intends to commit an offence under PART III or IV in relation to the aircraft, the peace officer may prohibit him from travelling on board the aircraft; and for the purpose of enforcing such prohibition may —

(a) prevent him from embarking on the aircraft, or as the case may be, remove him from the aircraft;

(b) arrest him without warrant and detain him for so long as may be necessary for that purpose.

24. For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that for the purposes of any proceedings before any court in The Bahamas in respect of piracy, the provisions set out in the Schedule, being provisions of the Convention on the High Seas signed at Geneva on the 29th April, 1958, shall

Minister’s certificate as to use of aircraft.

Prosecution of offence.

Powers exercisable on suspicion of intended offence.

Piracy.

Schedule.

PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

[CH.285 – 19

be treated as constituting part of the law of nations; and any such court having jurisdiction in respect of piracy committed on the high seas shall have jurisdiction in respect of piracy committed by or against an aircraft wherever that piracy is committed.

25. (1) The provisions of the Tokyo Convention Act, 1967 and of the Hijacking Act, 1971 of the United Kingdom as applied to The Bahamas by the Tokyo Convention Act, 1967 (Overseas Territories) Order, 1968 and the Hijacking Act, 1971 (Overseas Territories) Order, 1971, respectively, are hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the provisions effected by subsection (1) all laws made under the repealed provisions or the Extradition Act for the purpose of the carrying out of the repealed provisions in their application to The Bahamas and having effect therein at the commencement of this Act shall, in so far as such laws are not inconsistent with this Act, or like provision made by or under this Act, continue to have effect as if references in those laws to the repealed provisions were references to the respective provisions of this Act subject to such modifications, adaptations, qualifications and exceptions as may be necessary for the purpose.

SCHEDULE (Section 24)

PROVISIONS OF GENEVA CONVENTION ON THE HIGH SEAS TO BE TREATED AS PART OF THE LAW OF

NATIONS

ARTICLE 15 Piracy consists of any of the following acts:

(1) Any illegal acts of violence, detention or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed: (a) On the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or

against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft;

(b) Against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State;

(2) Any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft;

Repeal.

Ch. 96.

CH.285 – 20] PROTECTION OF AVIATION (TOKYO, HAGUE AND MONTREAL CONVENTIONS)

STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS [Original Service 2001]

(3) Any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (1) or subparagraph (2) of this article.

ARTICLE 16 The acts of piracy, as defined in article 15, committed by a

warship, government ship or government aircraft whose crew has mutinied and taken control of the ship or aircraft are assimilated to acts committed by a private ship.

ARTICLE 17 A ship or aircraft is considered a pirate ship or aircraft if it

is intended by the persons in dominant control to be used for the purpose of committing one of the acts referred to in article 15. The same applies if the ship or aircraft has been used to commit any such act, so long as it remains under the control of the persons guilty of that act.