Antarctic Treaty Act 1967
| Year | 1967 |
Antarctic Treaty Act 1967
1967 CHAPTER 65
An Act to enable effect to be given to measures for the conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora which, in pursuance of the Antarctic Treaty signed at Washington on 1st December 1959, have been or may hereafter be recommended for approval by contracting parties to that treaty; and for other purposes connected with the Antarctic Treaty.
[27th July 1967]
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 Conservation of Antarctic fauna and flora.
(1) On and after the appointed day, no person to whom this section applies, while he is in any part of Antarctica, shall, except as permitted by or under this Act,—
(a ) wilfully kill, injure, molest or take any native mammal or native bird, or
(b ) gather any native plant within a specially protected area, or drive any vehicle within such an area.
(2) On and after the appointed day, no person to whom this section applies shall, except as permitted by or under this Act, bring into any part of Antarctica any animal or plant of a species which is not indigenous to Antarctica.
(3) Subject to the next following subsection, this section applies to any person who is for the time being—
(a ) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, or
(b ) a British subject by virtue of section 2 of the British Nationality Act 1948 (continuance of certain citizens of Eire as British subjects), or
(c ) a British subject without citizenship by virtue of section 13 or section 16 of that Act (which relate respectively to British subjects whose citizenship had not been ascertained at the commencement of that Act and to persons who had ceased to be British subjects on loss of British nationality by a parent), or
(d ) a British subject by virtue of the British Nationality Act 1965 , or
(e ) a British protected person (within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1948 ),
and to any person who (not being such a person as is mentioned in any of paragraphs (a ) to (e ) of this subsection) is for the time being the owner or master or a member of the crew of a British ship registered in the United Kingdom.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding subsection, this section does not apply to a person who, being also a national of one of the other Contracting Parties, has been designated by or on behalf of that Contracting Party as an observer, or is an exchanged scientist made available by that Contracting Party, or is a member of the staff accompanying an observer so designated or such an exchanged scientist, while he is in any part of Antarctica for the purpose of exercising his functions as such an observer or exchanged scientist or as a member of such a staff.
(5) Any person who does, or attempts to do, anything in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence.
2 Exemptions from s. 1.
(1) Section 1 of this Act shall not be taken to be contravened by anything done, or attempted to be done, by any person in accordance with a permit issued in respect of him—
(a ) under this Act, or
(b ) by or on behalf of one of the other Contracting Parties,
if it is done or attempted at a time when that permit is in force and in compliance with any conditions or limitations to which the permit is subject.
(2) Without prejudice to the preceding subsection, where a person is charged with an offence under section 1 of this Act, it shall be a defence to prove that the act in question was done or attempted in a case of extreme emergency involving possible loss of human life or the safety of a ship or aircraft.
3 Issue of permits.
(1) The Secretary of State may issue in respect of any person to whom section 1 of this Act applies a permit authorising him to do such of the things mentioned in subsection (1) and (2) of that section as are specified in the permit.
(2) The Secretary of State may delegate his powers under the preceding subsection to any person who for the time being—
(a ) holds office as Director of the British Antarctic Survey or holds an appointment (by whatever name called) having functions similar to those which at the passing of this Act are performed by that Director, or
(b ) is the officer in charge of a station maintained in Antarctica by or on behalf of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, or
(c ) is in charge of an expedition to Antarctica organised in or proceeding from the United Kingdom or any other territory to which this section extends.
(3) Any permit under this section may be issued subject to such conditions and limitations as (subject to subsection (5) of this section) the Secretary of State or other person issuing the permit considers appropriate.
(4) In connection with the matters authorised by any such permit, the permit may require the person in respect of whom it is issued to make to the Secretary of State or other person issuing the permit a report, at such times and in such manner as may be specified in the permit, as to the occurrence of such acts and events as may be so specified.
(5) In the exercise of any power conferred by or under this section, the Secretary of State or other person exercising the power shall have regard to the Agreed Measures.
(6) Any person to whom the power to issue permits is delegated under subsection (2) of this section shall, in respect of each year, send to the Secretary of State a report in accordance with the next following subsection; and every such report shall be sent to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable after the end of the year to which it relates.
(7) A report made by any person under the last preceding subsection in respect of any year shall contain such particulars of permits under this section issued by him in that year, and of information received by him in that year in pursuance of subsection (4) of this section, as the Secretary of State may require.
(8) In this section ‘year’ means a period of twelve months ending with June.
4 Penalties.
(1) Any person who, being the owner or master or a member of the crew of a British ship registered in the United Kingdom, wilfully kills or takes a seal in contravention of section 1 of this Act shall be liable—
(a ) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both;
(b ) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to a fine not exceeding 100, or to both.
(2) Without prejudice to the preceding subsection, any person who, in contravention of section 1 of this Act, wilfully kills any mammal or bird of a specially protected species shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100.
(3) Except as otherwise provided by the preceding provisions of this section, any person who commits an offence under section 1 of this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50.
(4) Any person who—
(a ) fails to comply with a requirement imposed on him by a permit in accordance with section 3(4) of this Act, or
(b ) in any report made by him in pursuance of such a requirement knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50.
5 Application of criminal law to observers and exchanged scientists.
(1) Where on or after the appointed day anything is done, or omitted to be done, by a person to whom section 1 of this Act applies who has been designated by or on behalf of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom as an observer or is an exchanged scientist made available by that Government, or is a member of the staff accompanying an observer so designated or such an exchanged scientist, while he is in any part of Antarctica for the purpose of exercising his functions as such an observer or exchanged scientist or as a member of such a staff, and the act or omission—
(a ) would, if it occurred in any part of the United Kingdom, be an offence under the law of that part of the United Kingdom, or
(b ) would, if it occurred in any other territory to which this section extends, be an offence under the law of that territory,
he shall by virtue of this section be guilty of the like offence as if the act or omission had occurred in that part of the United Kingdom or in that territory, as the case may be, and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) The preceding subsection shall have effect without prejudice to the operation of sections 1 and 4 of this Act.
6 Power to make further provision for giving effect to Agreed Measures.
(1) If it appears to Her Majesty that further provision, in addition to that made by sections 1 to 5 of this Act, is necessary or expedient for giving effect to any of the Agreed Measures, Her Majesty may by Order in Council make such provision accordingly.
(2) An Order in Council under this section may prescribe penalties for contravention of prohibitions imposed by the Order; but the penalties so prescribed shall not exceed those specified respectively in paragraphs (a ) and (b ) of section 4(1) of this Act.
(3) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to make an Order in Council under this section unless a draft of the Order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
7 Further powers exercisable by Order in Council.
(1) Her Majesty may by...
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