Next (SCHEDULE 1 Convention for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation, done at Rome on 10 March 1988)

29 2004

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Number 29 of 2004


MARITIME SECURITY ACT 2004


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1.

Interpretation.

2.

Offences.

3.

Extra-territorial jurisdiction.

4.

Power of arrest and detention.

5.

Delivery of detained person to authorities in Convention state.

6.

Search.

7.

Proceedings.

8.

Evidence.

9.

Double jeopardy.

10.

Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act 1967.

11.

Amendment of Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994.

12.

Amendment of Bail Act 1997.

13.

Expenses.

14.

Short title.

SCHEDULE 1

Convention for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation, done at Rome on 10 March 1988

SCHEDULE 2

Protocol for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the continental shelf, done at rome on 10 march 1988

Acts Referred to

Bail Act 1997

1997, No. 16

Continental Shelf Act 1968

1968, No. 14

Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000

2000, No. 16

Criminal Procedure Act 1967

1967, No. 12

European Arrest Warrant Act 2003

2003, No. 45

Extradition Act 1965

1965, No. 17

Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994

1994, No. 6

Extradition Acts 1965 to 2001

Mercantile Marine Act 1955

1955, No. 29

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Number 29 of 2004


MARITIME SECURITY ACT 2004


AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ACTS AGAINST THE SAFETY OF MARITIME NAVIGATION, DONE AT ROME ON 10 MARCH 1988, AND TO THE PROTOCOL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ACTS AGAINST THE SAFETY OF FIXED PLATFORMS LOCATED ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF, DONE AT ROME ON THAT DATE. [19th July 2004]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1. —(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“act” includes omission and a reference to doing an act includes a reference to making an omission;

“Convention” means the Convention for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation, done at Rome on 10 March 1988;

“Convention state” means a state (other than the State) which is a state party to the Convention or Protocol;

“fixed platform” means an artificial island, installation or structure permanently attached to the sea-bed for the purpose of exploration or exploitation of resources or for other economic purposes and located within an area designated under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act 1968 ;

“Irish ship” means a ship, as so defined in section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 , wherever situate;

“master”, in relation to a ship, means the person having for the time being the command or charge of the ship;

“Protocol” means the Protocol for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the continental shelf, done at Rome on 10 March 1988;

“ship” means a vessel of any type not permanently attached to the sea-bed, including dynamically supported craft, submersibles or any other floating craft, but does not include—

(a) a warship,

(b) a ship owned or operated by a state when being used as a naval auxiliary or for customs or police purposes, or

(c) a ship which has been withdrawn from navigation or laid up,

and, in relation to a ship which is not an Irish ship, means such a ship which is in the territorial seas of the State.

(2) References in this Act to a member of the Defence Forces are references to such a member acting at the request of a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector.

(3) For convenience of reference the texts of the Convention and Protocol in the English language are set out in Schedules 1 and 2.

(4) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section or Schedule is to a section of, or Schedule to, this Act,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, and

(c) a reference to any other enactment is to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment (including this Act).

Offences.

2. —(1) A person who unlawfully and intentionally does any of the following acts is guilty of an offence:

(a) seizing or exercising control over a ship or fixed platform by force or threat of force or any other form of intimidation;

(b) performing an act of violence against a person on board a ship or fixed platform if that act is likely to endanger the safe navigation of the ship or the safety of the fixed platform;

(c) destroying a ship or fixed platform;

(d) causing damage—

(i) to a ship or its cargo which is likely to endanger its safe navigation, or

(ii) to a fixed platform which is likely to endanger its safety;

(e) placing or causing to be placed on a ship or fixed platform, by any means, a device or substance which is likely to—

(i) destroy the ship or fixed platform, or

(ii) cause the damage referred to in paragraph (d);

(f) destroying or seriously damaging maritime navigational facilities or seriously interfering with their operation, if the destruction, damage or interference is likely to endanger the safe navigation of a ship;

(g) endangering the safe navigation of a ship by communicating information which the person knows to be false;

(h) injuring or killing any person in connection with doing any of the acts mentioned elsewhere in this subsection;

(i) with the aim of compelling a person to do or not to do any act, threatening to endanger the safe navigation of a ship by doing any of the acts mentioned elsewhere in this subsection;

(j) attempting to do any of the acts mentioned in this subsection.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.

Extra-territorial jurisdiction.

3. —(1) Section 2 (1) applies to an act done outside the State in relation to a ship or a fixed platform if it is done—

(a) by any person on board or against an Irish ship,

(b) by a citizen of Ireland on board or against a ship (other than an Irish ship) or a fixed platform, or

(c) subject to subsection (2), by a person who is not a citizen of Ireland on board or against a ship (other than an Irish ship) or a fixed platform.

(2) In the case of an act done in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (1)(c), the Director of Public Prosecutions may not take, or consent to the taking of, proceedings for an offence in respect of that act except as authorised by section 7 (4).

(3) In this section—

“fixed platform” and “ship” mean a fixed platform and ship which are outside the State;

“outside the State” means—

(a) in relation to a fixed platform, outside an area designated under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act 1968 , and

(b) in relation to a ship, outside the territorial seas of the State.

Power of arrest and detention.

4. —(1) A member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces may arrest without warrant anyone whom the member, with reasonable cause, suspects to be guilty of an offence under section 2 .

(2) Where a member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces suspects, with reasonable cause, that a person who is about to board, or is on board, a ship or fixed platform intends to commit an offence under section 2 on or in relation to that ship or fixed platform, the member may—

(a) prevent the person from boarding the ship or fixed platform or from travelling on board the ship,

(b) without warrant board the ship or fixed platform and remove the person from it, or

(c) without warrant arrest the person.

(3) The master of a ship or a person for the time being in charge of a fixed platform may arrest and detain any person whom he or she, with reasonable cause, believes to be guilty of an offence under section 2 .

(4) Such a person may be so detained only until he or she can be delivered to—

(a) a member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces, or

(b) the appropriate authorities of a Convention state.

(5) A person arrested by or delivered to a member of the Defence Forces under this section shall be delivered by him or her to a member of the Garda Síochána as soon as practicable and shall thereupon be treated as a person arrested without warrant by a member of the Garda Síochána unless the person is brought as soon as practicable after such delivery before a judge of the High Court under the Extradition Acts 1965 to 2001 or the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 .

(6) In accordance with Article 7.1 of the Convention a judge of a court before whom such a person is brought shall, in considering any application for bail, take into account the need to ensure the person's presence in the State for such time as is necessary to enable any proceedings against the person to be instituted, including proceedings under any of the enactments referred to in subsection (5).

(7) In considering a request for the surrender of such a person to a Convention state the High Court shall, in accordance with Article 11.6 of the Convention, pay due regard to whether the person's rights as set out in Article 7.3 thereof can be given effect to in that state.

(8) References in this section to Articles 7.1, 7.3 and 11.6 of the Convention are to be construed, as appropriate, as references to those provisions as applied by Article 1 of the Protocol.

(9) A master of a ship or person for the time being in charge of a fixed platform is not liable to—

(a) conviction in any criminal prosecution, or

(b) damages in any civil proceeding,

brought in respect of any action reasonably taken by either of them under this Act against any other person.

Delivery of detained person to authorities in Convention state.

5. —(1) A master of a ship may deliver to the appropriate authorities of a Convention state any person detained by him or her under section 4 .

(2) A master of a ship who intends so to deliver such a person shall notify the authorities concerned of his or her intention to do so and the reasons for such delivery.

(3) The notification must be given whenever practicable and, if possible, before the ship enters the territorial seas of the Convention state.

(4) On delivery of a person under subsection (1) the master shall—

(a) make to the appropriate authorities of the Convention state such oral or written statements relating to the alleged offence as they may reasonably require, and

(b) give them any other evidence in his or her possession relating to that offence.

(5) A master who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with subsection (3) or (4) is guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

Search.

6. —(1) A member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces may search without warrant a ship or fixed platform on which the member, with reasonable cause, believes—

(a) that an offence under section 2 has been committed, or

(b) that a person who has committed such an offence is on the ship or fixed platform,

and may—

(i) remove any object which the member believes is related to such an offence, and

(ii) remove or take copies of any records or extracts from records which may be so related.

(2) A person who obstructs or attempts to obstruct a member of the Garda Síochána or Defence Forces while searching a ship or fixed platform is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(3) Such a member may arrest without warrant any person who is committing an offence under subsection (2).

(4) In subsection (1)(ii) “records” includes information in nonlegible form which is capable of being converted into legible form.

Proceedings.

7. —(1) Proceedings for an offence under section 2 in respect of an act done outside the State may be taken in any place in the State and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed in that place.

(2) Such an offence shall be tried by the Central Criminal Court.

(3) Where a person is charged with such an offence, no further proceedings in the matter (other than a remand in custody or on bail) shall be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(4) The Director of Public Prosecutions may take, or consent to the taking of, further proceedings against a person for such an offence—

(a) if it is done in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 3 (1), or

(b) if it is done in the circumstances mentioned in section 3 (1)(c) and the Director is satisfied—

(i) in case a request for the person's surrender for the purpose of trying him or her for such an offence has been made by a Convention state under Part II of the Extradition Act 1965, that the request has been finally refused (whether as a result of a decision of a court or otherwise),

(ii) in case a European arrest warrant has been received for the person's arrest for the purpose of bringing proceedings against him or her for such an offence in a Convention state that is a member state of the European Communities, that a final determination has been made under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 , whether by refusal of the High Court to endorse the warrant or otherwise under that Act, that the person should not be surrendered to the state concerned, or

(iii) in any other case, that, because of special circumstances (including, but not limited to, the likelihood of the person not being surrendered in the circumstances mentioned in subparagraph (i) or (ii)), it is expedient that proceedings be taken against the person for such an offence.

(5) In subsection (4)(b)(ii) “European arrest warrant” has the meaning given to it by section 2(1) of the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 .

Evidence.

8. —(1) In any proceedings relating to an offence under section 2 a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and certifying that—

(a) a passport was issued by the Department to a specified person on a specified date, and

(b) to the best of the officer's knowledge and belief, the person has not ceased to be an Irish citizen,

is admissible in any proceedings, without further proof, as evidence that the person was an Irish citizen on the date on which the offence under section 2 with which the person is charged was committed, unless the contrary is shown.

(2) A certificate purporting to be signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions or by a person authorised by the Director in that behalf and stating any of the matters specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 7 (4) is evidence of the facts stated in the certificate, unless the contrary is shown.

(3) A document purporting to be a certificate under subsection (1) or (2) is deemed, unless the contrary is shown—

(a) to be such a certificate,

(b) to have been signed by the person purporting to have signed it, and

(c) in the case of a certificate under subsection (2) purporting to be signed by a person authorised by the Director of Public Prosecutions in that behalf, to have been signed by such a person.

Double jeopardy.

9. —A person who has been acquitted or convicted of an offence outside the State shall not be proceeded against for an offence under section 2 for the act which constituted the offence of which the person was acquitted or convicted.

Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act 1967.

10. The Criminal Procedure Act 1967 is amended—

(a) in section 13(1), by inserting “or the offence of killing or attempted killing under paragraph (h) or (j) of section 2 (1) of the Maritime Security Act 2004” after “the offence of murder under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Safety of United Nations Workers) Act 2000 , or an attempt or conspiracy to commit that offence,” (inserted by section 7 of the said Act of 2000), and

(b) in section 29(1), by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (i) (inserted by the said section 7):

“(j) the offence of killing or attempted killing under paragraph (h) or (j) of section 2 (1) of the Maritime Security Act 2004.”.

Amendment of Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994.

11. —The First Schedule to the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 is amended by adding the following after paragraph 14:

Maritime security offences

14A. Any offence under section 2 of the Maritime Security Act 2004.”.

Amendment of Bail Act 1997.

12. —The Schedule to the Bail Act 1997 is amended by inserting the following after paragraph 22:

Maritime security offences

22A.—Any offence under section 2 of the Maritime Security Act 2004.”.

Expenses.

13. —The expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Short title.

14. —This Act may be cited as the Maritime Security Act 2004 .