Suppression of Terrorism Act 1978
Suppression of TerrorismAct 1978
1978 CHAPTER 26
An Act to give effect to the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism; to amend the law relating to the extradition of criminals and the obtaining of evidence for criminal proceedings outside the United Kingdom; to confer jurisdiction in respect of certain offences committed outside the United Kingdom; and for connected purposes.
[30th June 1978]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Cases in which certain offences are not to be regarded as of a political character.
(1) This section applies to any offence of which a person is accused or has been convicted outside the United Kingdom if the act constituting the offence, or the equivalent act, would, if it took place in any part of the United Kingdom or, in the case of an extra-territorial offence, in corresponding circumstances outside the United Kingdom, constitute one of the offences listed in Schedule 1 to this Act.
(2) For the purposes mentioned in subsection (3) below—
(a ) no offence to which this section applies shall be regarded as an offence of a political character; and
(b ) no proceedings in respect of an offence to which this section applies shall be regarded as a criminal matter of a political character or as criminal proceedings of a political character.
(3) Those purposes are—
(a ) the purposes of the Extradition Act 1870 in relation to any requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal made on behalf of a convention country after the coming into force of this paragraph;
(b ) the purposes of the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967 in relation to any request for the return of a person under that Act made on behalf of a convention country after the coming into force of this paragraph;
(c ) the purposes of the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 in relation to any warrant issued in the Republic of Ireland to which this paragraph applies by virtue of an order under subsection (4) below; and
(d ) the purposes of section 5 of the Extradition Act 1873 (evidence for foreign criminal matters) and section 5 of the Evidence (Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 (evidence for criminal proceedings outside the United Kingdom) in relation to—
(i) any criminal proceedings instituted in a convention country (not being the Republic of Ireland) after the coming into force of this sub-paragraph; and
(ii) any criminal proceedings in the Republic of Ireland to which this sub-paragraph applies by virtue of an order under subsection (4) below.
(4) The Secretary of State may by order direct that subsection (3)(c ) above shall apply to warrants of the kind mentioned in section 1(1)(a ) of the said Act of 1965 issued while the order is in force, and that subsection (3)(d )(ii) above shall apply to criminal proceedings instituted in the Republic of Ireland while the order is in force.
(5) On the revocation of an order made under subsection (4) above—
(a ) subsection (3)(c ) above shall cease to apply to any warrant issued while the order was in force; and
(b ) subsection (3)(d )(ii) above shall cease to apply to any criminal proceedings instituted while the order was in force,
but without prejudice to the validity of anything done while the order was in force.
2 Restrictions on return of criminal under Extradition Act 1870, or to Republic of Ireland, in certain cases.
(1) In relation to any requisition for the surrender of a fugitive criminal made as mentioned in section 1(3)(a ) above in respect of an offence to which section 1 above applies, the Extradition Act 1870 of section 3 (which prohibits the surrender of a criminal if he proves as there mentioned that the requisition for his surrender has in fact been made with a view to try or punish him for an offence of a political character) there were added the words ‘or with a view to try or punish him on account of his race, religion, nationality, or political opinions, or that he might, if surrendered, be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions:’.
(2) In relation to any warrant issued in the Republic of Ireland which specifies an offence to which section 1 above applies, being a warrant to which paragraph (c ) of subsection (3) of that section applies as mentioned in that paragraph, the Backing of Warrants (Republic of ireland) Act 1965, as amended by the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975 , (cases where warrant from Republic of Ireland is not to be executed) there were added the following words—
‘or
(e ) that there are substantial grounds for believing—
(i) that the warrant was in fact issued in order to secure the return of the person named or described in it to the Republic for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing him on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions; or
(ii) that he would, if returned there, be prejudiced at his trial or punished, detained or restricted in his personal liberty by reason of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions.’.
3 Extraditable offences.
(1) There shall be deemed to be included in the list of extradition crimes contained in Schedule 1 to the Extradition Act 1870—
(a ) any offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 ;
(b ) any indictable offence under the Firearms Act 1968 ; and
(c ) any attempt to commit any of the crimes in that list (including crimes added to it after the passing of this Act).
(2) There shall be deemed to be included among the descriptions of offences set out in Schedule 1 to the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967—
(a ) any indictable offence under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 ;
(b ) any offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1883; and
(c ) any indictable offence under the Firearms Act 1968.
4 Jurisdiction in respect of offences committed outside United Kingdom.
(1) If a person, whether a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or not, does in a convention country any act which, if he had done it in a part of the United Kingdom, would have made him guilty in that part of the United Kingdom of—
(a ) an offence mentioned in paragraph 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 of Schedule 1 to this Act; or
(b ) an offence of attempting to commit any offence so mentioned,
he shall, in that part of the United Kingdom, be guilty of the offence or offences aforesaid of which the act would have made him guilty if he had done it there.
(2) If a person, whether a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or not, does in a convention country any act to or in relation to a protected person which, if he had done it in a part of the United Kingdom, would have made him guilty in that part of the United Kingdom of—
(a ) an offence mentioned in paragraph 3, 6, 8 or 9 of Schedule 1 to this Act; or
(b ) an offence of attempting to commit any offence so mentioned,
he shall, in that part of the United Kingdom, be guilty of the offence or offences aforesaid of which the act would have made him guilty if he had done it there.
For the purposes of this subsection it is immaterial whether a person knows that another person is a protected person.
(3) If a person who is a national of a convention country but not a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies does outside the United Kingdom and that convention country any act which makes him in that convention country guilty of an offence and which, if he had been a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, would have made him in any part of the United Kingdom guilty of an offence mentioned in paragraph 1, 2 or 13 of Schedule 1 to this Act, he shall, in any part of the United Kingdom, be guilty of the offence or offences aforesaid of which the act would have made him guilty if he had been such a citizen.
(4) Proceedings for an offence which would not be an offence apart from this section shall not be instituted—
(a ) in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland; or
(b ) in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Attorney General;
and references to a consent provision in Article 7(3) to (5) of the Prosecution of Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 (which relates to consents to prosecutions) shall include so much of this subsection as precedes paragraph (b ).
(5) Without prejudice to any jurisdiction exercisable apart from this subsection, every sheriff court in Scotland shall have jurisdiction to entertain proceedings for an offence which would not be an offence in Scotland...
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