Internationally Protected Persons Act 1978
Internationally ProtectedPersons Act 1978
1978 CHAPTER 17
An Act to implement the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1973.
[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 Attacks and threats of attacks on protected persons.
(1) If a person, whether a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or not, does outside the United Kingdom—
(a ) any act to or in relation to a protected person which, if he had done it in any part of the United Kingdom, would have made him guilty of the offence of murder, manslaughter, culpable homicide, rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm or causing injury, kidnapping, abduction, false imprisonment or plagium or an offence under section 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30 or 56 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 or section 2 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 ; or
(b ) in connection with an attack on any relevant premises or on any vehicle ordinarily used by a protected person which is made when a protected person is on or in the premises or vehicle, any act which, if he had done it in any part of the United Kingdom, would have made him guilty of an offence under section 2 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 or article 3 of the Criminal Damage (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 or the offence of wilful fire-raising,
he shall in any part of the United Kingdom be guilty of the offences aforesaid of which the act would have made him guilty if he had done it there.
(2) If a person in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, whether a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or not—
(a ) attempts to commit an offence which, by virtue of the preceding subsection or otherwise, is an offence mentioned in paragraph (a ) of that subsection against a protected person or an offence mentioned in paragraph (b ) of that subsection in connection with an attack so mentioned; or
(b ) aids, abets, counsels or procures, or is art and part in, the commission of such an offence or of an attempt to commit such an offence,
he shall in any part of the United Kingdom be guilty of attempting to commit the offence in question or, as the case may be, of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring, or being art and part in, the commission of the offence or attempt in question.
(3) If a person in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, whether a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or not—
(a ) makes to another person a threat that any person will do an act which is an offence mentioned in paragraph (a ) of the preceding subsection; or
(b ) attempts to make or aids, abets, counsels or procures or is art and part in the making of such a threat to another person,
with the intention that the other person shall fear that the threat will be carried out, the person who makes the threat or, as the case may be, who attempts to make it or aids, abets, counsels or procures or is art and part in the making of it, shall in any part of the United Kingdom be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years and not exceeding the term of imprisonment to which a person would be liable for the offence constituted by doing the act threatened at the place where the conviction occurs and at the time of the offence to which the conviction relates.
(4) For the purposes of the preceding subsections it is immaterial whether a person knows that another person is a protected person.
(5) In this section—
‘act’ includes omission;
‘a protected person’ means, in relation to an alleged offence, any of the following, namely—
(a ) a person who at the time of the alleged offence is a Head of State, a member of a body which performs the functions of Head of State under the constitution of the State, a Head of Government or a Minister for Foreign Affairs and is outside the territory of the State in which he holds office;
(b ) a person who at the time of the alleged offence is a representative or an official of a State or an official or agent of an international organisation of an inter-governmental character, is entitled under international law to special protection from attack on his person, freedom or dignity and does not fall within the preceding paragraph;
(c ) a person who at the time of the alleged offence is a member of the family of another person mentioned in either of the preceding paragraphs and—
‘relevant premises’ means premises at which a protected person resides or is staying or which a protected person uses for the purpose of carrying out his functions as such a person; and
‘vehicle’ includes any means of conveyance;
and if in any proceedings a question arises as to whether a person is or was a protected person, a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Secretary of State and stating any fact relating to the question shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.
2 Provisions supplementary to s. 1.
(1) Proceedings for an offence which (disregarding the provisions of the Suppression of Terrorism Act 1978 ) would not be an offence apart from the preceding section shall not be begun—
(a ) in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland;
(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 for...
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