Visiting Forces (Application of Law) Order, 1954
| Year | 1954 |
1954 No. 635
The Visiting Forces (Application of Law) Order, 195413thMay 1954
12thJune 1954
ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES
1. Citation and commencement.
2. Interpretation.
3. Application of Order.
4. Provision of supplies.
5. Provision of land.
6. Appointment of special constables.
7. Postal, telegraphic and wireless services.
8. Road vehicles.
9. Exemption from rating of certain premises.
10. Exemption from harbour dues.
11. Miscellaneous exemptions, immunities and privileges.
12. Witnesses before service courts, custody and detention of prisoners, etc.
13. Penalties for inducing or assisting desertion etc.
14. Application of certain provisions of Public Health Acts.
15. Application of Factories Acts.
Schedule I. Enactments relating to land.
II. Enactments to which general Crown privilege applies.
III. Enactments conferring specific exemptions, privileges etc.
IV. Provisions relating to service courts of visiting forces.
V. Custody, detention and treatment of persons sentenced by service courts of visiting forces.
At the Court of Saint James, the 13th day of May, 1954
Present,
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret.
His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester.
Lord President
Earl Alexander of Tunis
Sir Walter Monckton
Mr. Macleod
Whereas Her Majesty, in pursuance of the Regency Acts, 1937 to 1953, was pleased, by Letters Patent dated the twentieth day of November, 1953, to delegate to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and the Earl of Harewood, or any two or more of them, as Counsellors of State, full power and authority during the period of Her Majesty's absence from the United Kingdom to summon and hold on Her Majesty's behalf Her Privy Council and to signify thereat Her Majesty's approval of anything for which Her Majesty's approval in Council is required:
And whereas a draft of this Order has in accordance with subsection (6) of section eight of the Visiting Forces Act, 1952(a), been laid before Parliament and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret and His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, being authorized thereto by the said Letters Patent and in pursuance of section eight of the Visiting Forces Act, 1952, do hereby, by and with the advice of Her Majesty's Privy Council, on Her Majesty's behalf order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—
Citation and commencement
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Visiting Forces (Application of Law) Order, 1954.
(2) This Order shall come into operation at the expiration of thirty days beginning with the day on which it is made.
Interpretation
2.—(1) The Interpretation Act, 1889(b), applies for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Order to any enactment is a reference thereto as amended by any other enactment and includes a reference thereto as applied by or incorporated with any other enactment.
Application of Order
3.—(1) The visiting forces to which this Order applies are those of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Ceylon, the United States of America, France, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands; and the expression "visiting force" shall be construed accordingly.
(2) The provisions of this Order shall be without prejudice to any enactment or rule of law which applies in relation to any such force as aforesaid as part of Her Majesty's forces.
Provision of supplies
4.—(1) For the purposes of the Ministry of Supply Act, 1939(c) (which enables the Minister of Supply to acquire, produce and dispose of articles required for the public service and to exercise certain other powers in relation to such articles), the expression "articles required for the public service" shall include articles required for the service of any visiting force; and the expression "works required for the public service" shall be construed accordingly.
(2) Notwithstanding any order made under the Ministers of the Crown (Transfer of Functions) Act, 1946(d), before the date on which this Order comes into force, any functions exercisable under the Ministry of Supply Act, 1939, in respect of articles or works required for the service of a visiting force shall be functions of the Minister of Supply.
(a) 15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 67.
(b) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.
(c) 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38.
(d) 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 31.
Provision of land
5.—(1) Any power exercisable in relation to land under the Defence Acts, the Military Lands Acts, 1892 to 1903, or Part VII of the Requisitioned Land and War Works Act, 1945(a), by the Admiralty, a Secretary of State or the Minister of Supply, or exercisable under Part VI of the said Act of 1945 by any Minister within the meaning of that Act, may be exercised for the purposes of any visiting force to the like extent as if that force formed part of each of the home forces; and accordingly—
(a) the enactments specified in the First Schedule to this Order shall have effect subject to the modifications set out in relation thereto in the second column of that Schedule; and
(b) any reference in those enactments, or in any other enactment referred to in this paragraph, to the public service shall be construed as including a reference to the service of any visiting force.
(2) In this Article "the Defence Acts" means the Defence Acts, 1842 to 1935, the Ordnance Board Transfer Act, 1855(b), section 7 of the Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts Amendment Act, 1860(c), the Admiralty Lands and Works Act, 1864(d), the Defence Act Amendment Act, 1864(e), section 7 of the Militia (Lands and Buildings) Act, 1873(f), and the Naval Works Act, 1895(g).
(3) Any reference in the said First Schedule to any expression contained in any enactment therein mentioned includes a reference to any other expression substituted therefor, whether expressly or by implication, and whether generally or for particular purposes, by any other enactment: but nothing in this Article shall affect the operation of any enactment (except Part VI of the Requisitioned Land and War Works Act, 1945) in its application to any Minister or department other than the Admiralty, a Secretary of State, or the Minister of Supply.
Appointment of special constables
6.—(1) The power conferred by section 3 of the Special Constables Act, 1923(h), and sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1947(i), to appoint persons nominated by the Admiralty, the Army Council or the Air Council to be special constables within the places, premises and limits described in those enactments respectively shall extend to the appointment of persons so nominated to be special constables in, and within fifteen miles of, any other premises in Great Britain which are for the time being in the possession or under the control of the service authorities of a visiting force, or are for the time being used for or in connection with the purposes of such a force, and subject to the following provisions of this Article the said enactments shall have effect accordingly.
(2) The proviso to section 2 of the Metropolitan Police Act, 1860(j) (which, as applied by the said section 3, limits the powers of special constables appointed thereunder), shall have effect as so applied as if the reference therein to the yards, naval and marine hospitals and infirmaries and marine barracks or stations included a reference to any such premises as are mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, and as if the references therein to
(a) 8 & 9 Geo. 6. c. 43.
(b) 18 & 19 Vict. c. 117.
(c) 23 & 24 Vict. c. 106.
(d) 27 & 28 Vict. c. 57.
(e) 27 & 28 Vict. c. 89.
(f) 36 & 37 Vict. c. 68.
(g) 58 & 59 Vict. c. 35.
(j) 23 & 24 Vict. c. 135.
property of the Crown and to persons subject to naval or marine or military discipline included references to property of the service authorities of a visiting force and to persons subject to the service law of any such force.
(3) Sub-paragraph (2) of paragraph 1 of the Second Schedule to the Emergency Laws (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1947 (which relates to the appointment in Northern Ireland of special constables nominated by the appropriate authority therein defined), shall have effect as if the premises therein mentioned included any premises in the possession or under the control of the service authorities of a visiting force, or used for the service of such a force; and in relation to any such premises the appropriate authority for the purposes of that sub-paragraph shall be the Admiralty or the Army Council or the Air Council.
(4) A special constable who, on the date on which this Order comes into operation, is authorised under the enactments mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (3) of this Article to act within any places, premises and limits described in those enactments may, without being further appointed or sworn for the purpose, act within any premises and limits for which special constables may be appointed by virtue of this Article.
Postal, telegraphic and wireless services
7. To such extent as may be provided by any agreement for the time being in force, being an agreement made by or on behalf of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with the service authorities of any visiting force or with the Government of the sending country of any such force, and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed by any such agreement—
(a) letters conveyed, received, collected, sent, despatched or delivered by means of posts and post offices established in the United Kingdom by the service authorities of that force shall be excepted from the...
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