The Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2004/702 |
2004 No. 702 (N.I. 3)
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
10thMarch 2004
ARRANGEMENT OF ORDER
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
1. Title and commencement
2. Interpretation
PART II
FIREARM CERTIFICATES, ETC.
Firearm certificates3. Firearm certificate required
4. Application for firearm certificate
5. Grant of firearm certificate
6. Conditions
7. Grant of firearm certificate to young persons
8. Content and duration of firearm certificate
9. Revocation of firearm certificate
10. Consequences of revocation
11. Variation of firearm certificate
12. Certificate for prohibited weapon
13. Surrender etc. of firearms on expiration of firearm certificate
Museum firearms licences14. Museum firearms licence
Visitor's firearm permits15. Visitor's firearm permit
16. Revocation or variation of visitor's firearm permit
Certificates granted in Great Britain, etc.17. Firearm certificate or shotgun certificate granted in Great Britain
18. Air guns held without a firearm certificate in Great Britain
Issue, etc. of documents for European purposes19. Issue of European firearms pass
20. Duration of European firearms pass
21. Renewal of European firearms pass
22. Article 7 authorities
23. Variation, endorsement, etc. of European documents
PART III
FIREARMS DEALERS
24. Firearms dealer's certificate required
25. Application for firearms dealer's certificate
26. Grant of firearms dealer's certificate
27. Conditions
28. Content and duration of firearms dealer's certificate
29. Revocation or variation of firearms dealer's certificate
30. Consequences of expiration or revocation of firearms dealer's certificate
31. Places of business: addition to certificate
32. Places of business: removal from certificate
33. Consequences where dealer convicted of an offence
34. Exemptions from Article 24 for auctioneers
35. Occasional permits
36. Revocation or variation of occasional permit
PART IV
CONTROL OF TRANSACTIONS
37. Business and other transactions with firearms and ammunition
38. Record of transactions in firearms
39. Transfers of firearms and ammunition to be in person
40. Notification of dealings involving firearms
41. Notification of loss, repair or deactivation of firearms, etc.
42. Notification of disposal or destruction, etc. taking place outside Northern Ireland
43. Purchase or acquisition of firearms in other member States
44. Firearms acquired for export
PART V
PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN WEAPONS AND CONTROL OF ARMS TRAFFIC
45. Weapons subject to general prohibition
46. Exemptions from requirement of authority under Article 45
47. Possession of firearms on service premises, etc.
48. Power to prohibit movement of firearms and ammunition
PART VI
FIREARMS CLUBS
49. Authorisation
50. Revocation or variation of authorisation
51. Power of entry
PART VII
ENFORCEMENT AND OFFENCES
Enforcement52. Power of search with warrant
53. Powers of constables to stop and search
54. Production of firearms for ballistic and other tests
55. Production of certificates, etc.
56. Police powers in relation to firearms traffic
57. Seizure and detention of firearms and ammunition
Offences with firearms58. Possession with intent
59. Use of firearm to resist arrest
60. Carrying firearm with criminal intent
61. Carrying or discharging firearm in a public place
62. Trespassing with firearm
63. Prohibition of possession, etc. of firearm by certain persons
64. Possession of firearm or ammunition in suspicious circumstances
65. Possession of loaded firearm while drunk or under influence of drugs
66. Supplying firearm or ammunition to person who is drunk, etc.
67. Conversion of weapons
68. Defences
General69. Prosecution and punishment of offences
70. Minimum sentence for certain offences
71. Power by order to exclude application of minimum sentence to those under 18
72. Forfeiture and disposal of firearms; cancellation of certificate by convicting court
73. False statements
PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL
74. Appeal from decision of Chief Constable
75. Fees
76. Application of Order to imitation firearms which are readily convertible into firearms
77. Application of Order to Crown servants
78. Application of certain provisions of this Order to police
79. Delegation of functions
80. Regulations and orders
81. Saving and transitional provisions
82. Amendments and repeals
SCHEDULES:
Schedule 1
Firearm certificates û exemptions
Schedule 2
Firearms and ammunition in museums
Schedule 3
Record of transactions
Schedule 4
Offences to which Article 59(2) applies
Schedule 5
Table of punishments
Schedule 6
Fees
Schedule 7
Consequential amendments
Schedule 8
Repeals
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of March 2004
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas a draft of this Order in Council has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 1(1) of the Schedule to the Northern Ireland Act 2000 (c. 1) and of all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:û
PART I
INTRODUCTORY
Title and commencement
1.ù
(1) This Order may be cited as the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004.
(2) This Part and Articles 79 to 81 shall come into operation on the expiration of one month from the day on which this Order is made.
(3) The remaining provisions of this Order shall come into operation on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.
Interpretation
2.ù
(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33) applies to this Order as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
(2) In this Orderù
"acquire" means hire, accept as a gift or borrow;
"air gun" means a firearm powered by compressed air or compressed gas;
"ammunition" means ammunition for any firearm except blank cartridges which are not more than 25.4 millimetres in diameter measured immediately in front of the rim or cannelure of the base of the cartridge and includesù
(a) grenades, bombs and other like missiles, whether capable of use with a firearm or not; and(b) prohibited ammunition;"another member State" means a member State other than the United Kingdom;
"appropriate fee" shall be construed in accordance with Article 75(2);
"armed forces" means any of the naval, military or air forces of the Crown;
"Article 7 authority" has the meaning given by Article 22(1);
"component part", in relation to a firearm, meansù
(a) any barrel, chamber or cylinder;(b) any frame, action, body or receiver;(c) any breech block, bolt or other mechanism for containing the pressure of discharge at the rear of the chamber;(d) any part of a firearm which directly bears the pressure caused by firing; and(e) any magazine;"European firearms pass" has the meaning given by Article 19(2);
"European weapons directive" means the directive of the Council of the European Communities No. 91/477/EEC (directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons);
"firearm" means a lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged and includesù
(a) any prohibited weapon, whether it is such a lethal weapon or not;(b) any component part of such a lethal or prohibited weapon; and(c) any accessory to any such weapon designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon;"firearm certificate" means, subject to paragraph (5), a certificate granted under Article 5;
"firearms club" means a club established for the purpose of promoting and practising skill in the use of firearms (other than shotguns) and includes a cadet corps;
"firearms dealer" means a person who by way of trade or business manufactures, sells, transfers, repairs, tests or proves firearms or ammunition;
"firearms dealer's certificate" means a certificate granted under Article 26;
"handgun" means any firearm which either has a barrel less than 30 centimetres in length or is less than 60 centimetres in length overall, other than an air gun, a muzzle-loading firearm or a firearm designed as a signalling apparatus;
"holder of a firearms dealer's certificate" includes a person registered under section 33 of the Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27);
"imitation firearm" means anything which has the appearance of being a firearm, whether or not it is capable of discharging any shot, bullet or other missile;
"mental disorder" has the same meaning as in the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (NI 4);
"prohibited weapon" and "prohibited ammunition" respectively mean a weapon and ammunition prohibited under Article 45 (including, in the case of ammunition, any missiles falling within paragraph (2)(g) of that Article);
"readable" meansù
(a) visible and legible; or(b) capable of being readily produced in a visible and legible form;"relative", in relation to a person, meansù
(a) the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson or granddaughter of that person or of that person's spouse or former spouse, or(b) the brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (whether of the full blood or of the half blood or by affinity) of that person or of that person's spouse or former spouse,and includes, in relation to a person who is living or has lived with another person as husband and wife, any person who would fall within paragraph (a) or (b) if the parties were married to each other;
"revolver" means a firearm containing a series of chambers which revolves when it is fired;
"self-loading" and "pump action", in relation to any firearm, mean respectively that it is designed or adapted (otherwise than as mentioned in Article 45(1)(a)) so that it is automatically reloaded or that it is so designed or adapted that it is reloaded by the manual operation of the fore-end or forestock of the firearm;
"shotgun" means a smoothbore firearm with a barrel not less than 60.96 centimetres in length, not being an air...
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