Crime and Security
(Jersey) Law 2003[1]
A LAW to create new offences
regarding the use of weapons of mass destruction and noxious things and confer
powers of entry in relation thereto; and to confer a power to make orders
freezing the assets of a person outside Jersey engaged in acts detrimental to
the economy or which threaten life or property
Commencement [see endnotes]
PART 1
INTRODUCTORY
1 Interpretation
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“freezing order”
means an Order made by the Minister under Article 8;
“Island person”
means –
(a) a
national of the United Kingdom who is ordinarily resident in Jersey;
(b) a
body incorporated under the laws of Jersey;
(c) a
limited liability partnership registered under the Limited
Liability Partnerships (Jersey) Law 2017;
(d) a
limited liability company registered under the Limited
Liability Companies (Jersey) Law 2018;
“Minister”
means the Minister for External Relations;
“nuclear weapon”
includes a nuclear explosive device that is not intended for use as a weapon;
“police officer”
means an officer of the States of Jersey Police force or a member of the
Honorary Police.[2]
(2) For
the purposes of this Law a national of the United Kingdom is an individual who
is –
(a) a
British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British National
(Overseas) or a British Overseas Citizen;
(b) a
person who under the British Nationality Act 1981 of the United Kingdom
Parliament is a British subject; or
(c) a
British protected person within the meaning of that Act.
(3) For
the purposes of this Law, a reference to a resident of a country or territory
outside Jersey is –
(a) an
individual who is ordinarily resident in such a country or territory;
(b) a
body incorporated under the law of such a country or territory; or
(c) an
unincorporated body having a separate legal personality registered under the
law of such a country or territory.[3]
(4) For
the purposes of paragraph (3)(b) in its application to Part 3, a
branch situated in a country or territory outside Jersey of an Island company
or limited liability partnership shall
be treated as a body incorporated under the law of the country or territory
where the branch is situated.
(4A) For
the purposes of paragraph (3)(c) in its application to Part 3, a
branch situated in a country or territory outside Jersey of an Island person
that is a limited liability company registered under the Limited
Liability Companies (Jersey) Law 2018 is taken to be a body having separate
legal personality registered under the law of the country or territory where
the branch is situated.[4]
(5) In
this Law a reference to an enactment is a reference to that enactment as
amended from time to time and includes a reference to that enactment as
extended or applied under another enactment, including another provision of
this Law.
(6) For
the purposes of paragraph (5), “enactment” includes an Act of
the United Kingdom Parliament.
PART 2
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
2 Use
etc. of nuclear weapons
(1) It
shall be an offence for a person to –
(a) knowingly
cause a nuclear weapon explosion;
(b) develop
or produce, or participate in the development or production of, a nuclear
weapon;
(c) have
a nuclear weapon in his or her possession;
(d) participate
in the transfer of a nuclear weapon; or
(e) engage
in military preparations, or in preparations of a military nature, intending to
use or threaten to use, a nuclear weapon.
(2) Paragraph (1)
is subject to any exception specified under paragraph (6) and to the
defences in Article 3.
(3) For
the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) a person participates in the development
or production of a nuclear weapon if the person does any act which –
(a) facilitates
the development by another person of the capability to produce or use a nuclear
weapon; or
(b) facilitates
the making by another person of a nuclear weapon,
knowing or having reason
to believe that his or her act has (or will have) that effect.
(4) For
the purposes of paragraph (1)(d) a person participates in the transfer of
a nuclear weapon if the person –
(a) buys
or otherwise acquires it or agrees with another person to do so;
(b) sells
or otherwise disposes of it or agrees with another person to do so; or
(c) makes
arrangements under which another person either acquires or disposes of it or
agrees with a third person to do so.
(5) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment
for life.
(6) The
States may by Regulations specify acts to which paragraph (1) does not
apply.
(7) This
Article applies to acts done outside Jersey, but only if they are done by an
Island person.
(8) Nothing
in paragraph (7) affects any criminal liability arising otherwise than
under that paragraph.
3 Defences
for Article 2
(1) In
proceedings for an offence under Article 2(1)(c) or (d) relating to an
object it is a defence for the accused to show that he or she did not know and
had no reason to believe that the object was a nuclear weapon and the accused
shall be taken to have shown that fact if –
(a) sufficient
evidence is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it; and
(b) the
contrary is not proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.
(2) In
proceedings for an offence under Article 2(1)(c) or (d) it shall also be a
defence for the accused to show that he or she knew or believed that the object
was a nuclear weapon but, as soon as reasonably practicable after the accused
first knew or believed that fact, the accused took all reasonable steps to
inform an officer of the States of Jersey Police Force of his or her knowledge
or belief.
4 Assisting
or inducing certain weapons - related acts overseas
(1) It
shall be an offence for a person to aid, abet, counsel or procure or incite
another person, who is not an Island person, to do a relevant act outside Jersey.
(2) A
relevant act is an act that, if done by an Island person, would be an offence
under –
(a) Article 2;
(b) section
1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974 of the United Kingdom as it is extended to
Jersey by Order in Council; or
(c) section
2 of the Chemical Weapons Act 1996 of the United Kingdom as it is extended to Jersey
by Order in Council.
(3) A
person accused of an offence under this Article in relation to a relevant act
may raise any defence which would be open to a person accused of an offence
mentioned in paragraph (2) in respect of that act.
(4) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment
for life.
(5) This
Article applies to acts done outside Jersey, but only if they are done by an
Island person.
(6) Nothing
in this Article affects any criminal liability arising apart from this Article.
5 Use
of noxious things to cause harm and intimidate
(1) It
shall be an offence for a person to take any action which –
(a) involves
the use of any noxious thing;
(b) has
or is likely to have an effect falling within paragraph (2); and
(c) is
designed –
(i) to
influence the States of Jersey or the government of any other place or country,
or
(ii) to
intimidate the public or a section of the public of Jersey or of any other
place or country.
(2) Action
has an effect falling within this paragraph if it –
(a) causes
serious violence against a person anywhere in the world;
(b) causes
serious damage to property anywhere in the world;
(c) endangers
human life or creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a
section of the public; or
(d) induces
in members of the public the fear that the action is likely to endanger their
lives or create a serious risk to their health or safety,
but any effect on the
person taking the action is to be disregarded.
(3) It
shall be an offence for a person to make a threat that he or she or another
person will take any action which constitutes an offence under paragraph (1),
intending, by the threat, to induce in any person, whether in Jersey or
elsewhere, the fear that the threat is likely to be carried out.
(4) For
a person to be guilty of an offence under paragraph (3), it is not
necessary for that person to have any particular person in mind.
(5) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 14 years or to a fine, or both.
6 Powers
of entry
(1) If
the Bailiff is satisfied on information on oath that there are reasonable
grounds for suspecting that evidence of the commission of an offence under Article 2,
4 or 5 is to be found on any premises, the Bailiff may issue a warrant
authorizing a police officer to enter the premises, if necessary by force, at
any time within one month from the date of issue of the warrant and to search
the premises.
(2) The
powers of a police officer who enters premises under the authority of a warrant
include power –
(a) to
take with the officer such other persons and such equipment as appear to him or
her to be necessary;
(b) to
inspect, seize and retain any substance, equipment or document found on the
premises;
(c) to
require any document or other information which is held in electronic form and
is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form –
(i) in
which the officer can read and copy it, or
(ii) from
which it can readily be produced in a form in which the officer can read and
copy it;
(d) to
copy any document which the officer has reasonable cause to believe may be
required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of an offence
under Article 2, 4 or 5.
(3) A
police officer who enters premises under the authority of a warrant or by
virtue of paragraph (2)(a) may search or cause to be searched any person
on the premises who the officer has reasonable cause to believe may have in his
or her possession any document or other thing which may be required as evidence
for the purposes of proceedings in respect of an offence under Article 2,
4 or 5.
(4) A
police officer shall not search a person of the opposite sex.
(5) It
shall be an offence for a person to –
(a) wilfully
obstruct a police officer in the exercise of a power conferred by a warrant
under this Article; or
(b) fail,
without reasonable excuse, to comply with a reasonable request made by a police
officer for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of such a power.
(6) A
person guilty of an offence under paragraph (5) shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or both.
PART 3
FREEZING ORDERS
7 Power
to make freezing order
(1) The
Minister may by Order make a freezing order if the following 2 conditions are
satisfied.
(2) The
first condition is that the Minister believes that –
(a) action
to the detriment of Jersey’s economy (or part of it) has been or is
likely to be taken by a person or persons; or
(b) action
constituting a threat to the life or property of one or more individuals
ordinarily resident in Jersey, Island companies, limited liability partnerships
or limited liability companies has been or is likely to be taken by a person or
persons.[5]
(3) If
one person is believed to have taken or to be likely to take the action the
second condition is that the person is –
(a) the
government of a country or territory outside Jersey; or
(b) a
resident of a country or territory outside Jersey.
(4) If
2 or more persons are believed to have taken or to be likely to take the action
the second condition is that each of them falls within sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (3);
and different persons may fall within different sub-paragraphs.
8 Contents
of order
(1) A
freezing order must provide that a person is a designated person for the
purpose of Part 3 of the Sanctions and
Asset-Freezing (Jersey) Law 2019.[6]
(2) [7]
(3) The
order may specify the following (and only the following) as the designated
person or persons –
(a) the
person or persons reasonably believed by the Minister to have taken or to be
likely to take the action referred to in Article 7(2);
(b) any
person the Minister reasonably believes has provided or is likely to provide
assistance (directly or indirectly) to that person or any of those persons.[8]
(4) A
person may be specified under paragraph (3) by –
(a) being
named in the order; or
(b) falling
within a description of persons set out in the order.
(5) The
description must be such that a reasonable person would know whether he or she
fell within it.
(6) [9]
(7) [10]
(8) The
Schedule contains further provisions about the contents of freezing orders but
nothing in the Schedule affects the generality of paragraph (1).
9 Review
and duration of freezing order
(1) The
Minister shall keep a freezing order under review.
(2) A
freezing order shall cease to have effect at the end of the period of 2 years
beginning with the day on which it is made.
10 The
Crown
(1) A
freezing order binds the Crown, subject to the following provisions of this Article.
(2) No
contravention by the Crown of a provision of a freezing order makes the Crown
criminally liable but the Royal Court may, on the application of a person
appearing to the Court to have an interest, declare unlawful any act or
omission of the Crown which constitutes such a contravention.
(3) Nothing
in this Article affects His Majesty in his private capacity.[11]
PART 4
CLOSING PROVISIONS
11 Offences:
general
(1) Proceedings
for an offence under this Law or included in a freezing order shall not be
instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney General.
(2) Any
person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under
this Law or included in a freezing order shall also be guilty of the offence
and liable in the same manner as a principal offender to the penalty provided
for that offence.
(3) Where
an offence under this Law committed by a limited liability partnership or body
corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of,
or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of –
(a) a
person who is a partner of the partnership, or director, manager, secretary or
other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(b) any
person purporting to act in any such capacity,
the person shall also be
guilty of the offence and liable in the same manner as the partnership or body
corporate to the penalty provided for that offence.
(4) Where
the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (3)
shall apply in relation to acts and defaults of a member in connection with the
member’s functions of management as if the member were a director of the
body corporate.
12 [12]
13 Citation
This Law may be cited as
Crime and Security (Jersey) Law 2003.