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Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)
L.R.O.

LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Act
5!of!1978

Amended!by
36!of!1985

Current Authorised Pages
Pages Authorised

(inclusive) by L.R.O.
1–13 ..

CIVIL AVIATION (TOKYO CONVENTION) ACT

CHAPTER 11:21

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt

LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

2 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

Note on Subsidiary Legislation
This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt

L.R.O.

LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 3

CHAPTER 11:21

CIVIL AVIATION (TOKYO CONVENTION) ACT

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SECTION

1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Application of criminal law to aircraft.
4. Extradition.
5. Powers of commander of aircraft.
6. Piracy.
7. Provisions as to evidence in connection with aircraft.
8. Provisions as to documentary evidence.

SCHEDULE.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

4 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

CHAPTER 11:21

CIVIL AVIATION (TOKYO CONVENTION) ACT

An Act to give effect to the Convention on offences and certain
other acts committed on board aircraft, signed in Tokyo
on 14th September 1963; to give effect to certain
provisions relating to piracy of the Convention on the
High Seas, signed in Geneva on 29th April 1958; and for
connected purposes.

[7TH MAY 1978]

1. This Act may be cited as the Civil Aviation (Tokyo
Convention) Act.

2. (1) In this Act—
“aircraft”, subject to subsection (6), means an aircraft, whether

or not a Trinidad and Tobago controlled aircraft, other than—
(a) a military aircraft;
(b) an aircraft which, not being a military aircraft,

belongs to or is exclusively employed in the
service of the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago;

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

“Convention country”, subject to subsection (5), means a country
in which the Tokyo Convention is in force;

“military aircraft” means an aircraft of the naval, military or air
forces of any country, and a certificate of the Minister
responsible for Defence that any aircraft is or is not a military
aircraft for the purposes of this Act is conclusive evidence
of the fact certified;

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

5 of 1978.

Commencement.
67/1978.

Short title.

Interpretation.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 5

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

“Tokyo Convention” means the Convention on offences and
certain other acts committed on board aircraft, signed in
Tokyo on 14th September 1963;

“Trinidad and Tobago controlled aircraft” means an aircraft which—
(a) is registered in Trinidad and Tobago;
(b) is not 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 Trinidad and Tobago; and

(ii) resides or has his principal place of business
in Trinidad and Tobago; or

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

(2) For the purpose of this Act, the period during which
an aircraft is in flight includes—

(a) any period from the moment when 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 the flight ends; and

(b) for the purposes of section 5—
(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;

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

6 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

(ii) if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any
period thereafter until the time when
competent authorities of the country in
which that landing takes place take over
responsibility for the aircraft and for the
persons and property on board the aircraft
(being, if that landing takes place in Trinidad
and Tobago, the time when a police officer
arrives at the place of landing),

and a reference in this Act 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) A reference in this Act to Trinidad and Tobago or
any other country or to the territorial limits thereof includes a
reference to the territorial waters of Trinidad and Tobago or, if
any, of that country.

(4) If the Minister responsible for civil aviation is satisfied
that the requirements of Article 18 of the Tokyo Convention are
complied with, he may by Order provide that for the purposes of
this Act such aircraft as are specified in the Order shall be treated
as registered in the Convention country so specified.

(5) The Minister responsible for external affairs may by
Notification certify that any country specified in the Notification
is for the time being a convention country and any such Notification
for the time being in force is for the purposes of this Act conclusive
evidence that the country in question is for the time being a
convention country.

(6) The Minister responsible for Civil Aviation may by
Order apply any of the provisions of this Act, with or without
modifications, to aircraft such as are mentioned in the definition
of aircraft in subsection (1)(a) or (b).

3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), an act or omission taking place
on board a Trinidad and Tobago controlled aircraft while in flight
elsewhere than in or over Trinidad and Tobago which, if taking place
in Trinidad and Tobago, would constitute an offence under the law
in force in Trinidad and Tobago constitutes that offence.

Application of
criminal law to
aircraft.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 7

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an act or omission
which is expressly or impliedly authorised by or under the law in
force in Trinidad and Tobago when taking place outside of Trinidad
and Tobago.

(3) No proceedings for an offence under the law in force
in Trinidad and Tobago committed on board an aircraft while in
flight elsewhere than in or over Trinidad and Tobago, other than
an offence under the Civil Aviation Act 1949, of the United
Kingdom Parliament or any instrument made thereunder, shall be
instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public
Prosecutions.

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply for the purposes of the
arrest or the issue of a warrant for the arrest of a person in respect
of any offence or the remanding in custody or on bail of any person
charged with an offence.

(5) For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, an offence
under the law in force in Trinidad and Tobago committed on board
an aircraft in flight shall be deemed to have been committed in
any place in Trinidad and Tobago where the offender is for the
time being.

(6) Section 62(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1949 of the
United Kingdom Parliament in its application to Trinidad and
Tobago is hereby repealed.

4. For the purposes of the application of the Extradition
(Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) 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 also within the jurisdiction of any other country; and
that Act applies also where a person’s surrender is sought in
respect of a crime committed on board an aircraft in flight that
lands in Trinidad and Tobago.

5. (1) Subsections (2) to (5) have effect for the purpose of
any proceedings before any Court in Trinidad and Tobago.

12, 13 & 14
Geo. 6 c. 67.

Extradition.
[36 of 1985].
Ch. 12:04.

Powers of
commander of
aircraft.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt

LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

8 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

(2) If the commander of an aircraft in flight, wherever
that aircraft may be, has reasonable grounds for believing—

(a) that any person on board the aircraft 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 any person on board the aircraft 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,

the commander may, subject to subsection (5), take with respect
to that person such reasonable measures, including restraint of his
person, as are 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 (6).

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a Trinidad and
Tobago controlled aircraft shall be deemed to be registered in
Trinidad and Tobago whether or not it is in fact so registered and
whether or not it is in fact registered in some other country.

(4) A member of the crew of an aircraft and any other
person on board the aircraft—

(a) may, at the request or with the authority of the
commander of the aircraft, and any such
member shall, if so required by the commander,
render assistance in restraining any person
whom the commander is entitled under
subsection (2) to restrain;

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt

L.R.O.

LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 9

(b) may, at any time when the aircraft is in flight
without obtaining the authority of the commander,
take with respect to any person on board the
aircraft any of the measures 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.

(5) A restraint imposed on any person on board an aircraft
under 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 the restraint
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 able with
any requisite consent of the appropriate authorities
to disembark or deliver the person under restraint
in accordance with subsection (6); or

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

(6) The commander of an aircraft may—
(a) if he has reasonable grounds for believing—

(i) the matters stated in subsection (2)(a); and
(ii) that it is necessary to take such action 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,

disembark that person in any country in which
that aircraft may be; and

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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10 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

(b) if he has reasonable grounds for believing the matter
stated in subsection (2)(b), deliver that person—

(i) in Trinidad and Tobago to a police officer
or to an immigration officer; or

(ii) in any other country which is a Convention
country, to an officer having functions
corresponding to the functions in Trinidad
and Tobago either of a police officer or an
immigration officer.

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

subsection (6)(a), in the case of a Trinidad and
Tobago controlled aircraft in any country or, in
the case of any other aircraft, in Trinidad and
Tobago, 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;

(b) if he intends to deliver any person in accordance
with subsection (6)(b) in Trinidad and Tobago or,
in the case of a Trinidad and Tobago 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 Trinidad
and Tobago, to a police officer or to an
immigration officer or, in the case of any
other country, to an officer having functions
corresponding to the functions in Trinidad
and Tobago either of a police officer or of
an immigration officer;

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

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt

L.R.O.

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Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 11

Piracy.

Schedule.

Provisions as to
evidence in
connection with
aircraft.

(8) A commander of an aircraft who without reasonable
cause fails to comply with subsection (7) is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars.

6. For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that for
the purposes of any proceedings before a Court in Trinidad and
Tobago in respect of piracy, the provisions set out in the Schedule,
being Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Convention on the High Seas
signed at Geneva on 29th April 1958, shall 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.

7. (1) Where in any proceedings before a Court in Trinidad
and Tobago for an offence committed on board an aircraft the
testimony of any person is required and the Court is satisfied that
the person in question cannot be found in Trinidad and Tobago,
there shall be admissible in evidence before that Court any
deposition relating to the subject matter of those proceedings
previously made on oath by that person outside of Trinidad and
Tobago which was so made—

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

(b) before a judge or magistrate of a country
mentioned in section 18(3) of the Constitution,
or before a consular representative for Trinidad
and Tobago.

(2) A deposition mentioned in subsection (1) shall be
authenticated by the signature of the judge, magistrate or consular
representative before whom it was made who shall certify that the person
charged with the offence was present at the taking of the deposition.

(3) It shall not be necessary in any proceedings to prove
the signature or official character of the person appearing so to
have authenticated a deposition under subsection (2) or to have
given a certificate mentioned in that subsection, and such a
certificate shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence
in any proceedings that the person charged with the offence was
present at the taking of the deposition.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

12 Chap. 11:21 Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention)

(4) If a complaint is made to a consular representative
for Trinidad and Tobago that an offence has been committed on a
Trinidad and Tobago controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere
than in or over Trinidad and Tobago that representative may inquire
into the case upon oath.

(5) In this section, “deposition” includes any affidavit,
affirmation or statement 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.

8. In any legal proceedings—
(a) a document purporting to be certified by the

Minister responsible for Civil Aviation as being
or being a true copy of, or part of, a document
issued or record kept in pursuance of an Order in
Council or Order made under section 8 of the Civil
Aviation Act 1949 of the United Kingdom
Parliament, by a government department or a
Minister responsible for any business or
department of the government, or by a public
officer who is specified for the purpose in any
such Order in Council or Order or by the
competent authority in Trinidad and Tobago for
the registration or licensing of aircraft; or

(b) a document issued by the office of the Director
of Civil Aviation purporting to be the publication
of the series known as “Notam”,

shall, if relevant, be evidence of the matters appearing from that
document or publication.

Provisions as to
documentary
evidence.

12, 13 & 14
Geo. 6 c. 67.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


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Civil Aviation (Tokyo Convention) Chap. 11:21 13

SCHEDULE

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, person 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.

(3) Any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act
described in sub-paragraph (1) or sub-paragraph (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 private 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.

Section 6.

UNOFFICIAL VERSION


UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt