Hijacking Act 1971
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1971 c. 70 |
Hijacking Act 1971
1971 CHAPTER 70
An Act to give effect to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft; and for connected purposes.
[5th August 1971]
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 Hijacking.
(1) A person on board an aircraft in flight who unlawfully, by the use of force or by threats of any kind, seizes the aircraft or exercises control of it commits the offence of hijacking, whatever his nationality, whatever the State in which the aircraft is registered and whether the aircraft is in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, but subject to subsection (2) of this section.
(2) If—
(a ) the aircraft is used in military, customs or police service; or
(b ) both in place of take off and the place of landing are in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is registered;
subsection (1) of this section shall not apply, unless—
(i) the person seizing or exercising control of the aircraft is such a person as is mentioned in subsection (3) of this section; or
(ii) his act is committed in the United Kingdom; or
(iii) the aircraft is registered in the United Kingdom or is used in the military or customs service of the United Kingdom or in the service of any police force in the United Kingdom.
(3) The persons referred to in subsection (2)(i) of this section are the following, namely,—
(a ) a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies;
(b ) a British subject by virtue of section 2 of the British Nationality Act 1948 ;
(c ) a British subject without citizenship by virtue of section 13 or section 16 of that Act;
(d ) a British subject by virtue of the British Nationality Act 1965 ; and
(e ) a British protected person within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1948.
(4) A person who—
(a ) commits the offence of hijacking; or
(b ) in the United Kingdom induces or assists the commission elsewhere of an act which would be the offence of hijacking but for subsection (2) of this section;
shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.
(5) For the purposes of this section the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include any period from the moment when all its external doors are closed following embarkation until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation, and, in the case of a forced landing, any period until the competent authorities take over responsibility for the aircraft and for persons and property on board.
(6) For the purposes of this section the territorial waters of any State shall be treated as part of its territory.
(7) In this section ‘military service’ includes naval and air-force service.
2 Violence against passengers or crew.
2. Without prejudice to section 1 of the Tokyo Convention Act 1967(which makes similar provision for offences on board British-controlled aircraft), where a person (of whatever nationality) does on board any aircraft (wherever registered) and while outside the United Kingdom any act which, if done in the United Kingdom (or, as the case may be, in England, Wales or Northern Ireland or in Scotland) would constitute the offence of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, culpable homicide or assault or an offence under section 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28 or 29 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861or section 2 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, his act shall constitute that offence if it is done in connection with the offence of hijacking committed or attempted by him on board that aircraft.
3 Extradition.
(1) There shall be deemed to be included—
(a ) in the list of extradition crimes contained in Schedule 1 to the Extradition Act 1870 ; and
(b ) among the descriptions of offences set out in Schedule 1 to the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967 ;
any offence under this Act and (so far as not so included by virtue of the foregoing) any attempt to commit such an offence.
(2) Where no such arrangement as is mentioned in section 2 of the Extradition Act 1870 has been made with a State which is a party to the Convention,...
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