AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 307 AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984 As at 1 December 2012 2 AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984 Date of Royal Assent … … … 4 September 1984 Date of publication in the Gazette … 6 September 1984 Latest amendment made by Act A1253 which came into operation on … … … 30 September 2005 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … 2001 Second Reprint … … … 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 307 AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation PART II PROVISIONS TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION ON OFFENCES AND CERTAIN OTHER ACTS COMMITTED ON BOARD AIRCRAFT SIGNED AT TOKYO ON 14 SEPTEMBER 1963 3. Application of criminal law to aircraft 4. Provisions as to extradition 5. Powers of commander of aircraft 6. Provisions as to evidence in connection with aircraft 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 307 PART III PROVISIONS TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF AIRCRAFT SIGNED AT THE HAGUE ON 16 DECEMBER 1970 Section 7. Hijacking 8. Violence against passengers or crew PART IV PROVISIONS TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ACTS AGAINST THE SAFETY OF CIVIL AVIATION SIGNED AT MONTREAL ON 23 SEPTEMBER 1971 AND THE PROTOCOL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ACTS OF VIOLENCE AT AIRPORTS SERVING INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION, CONCLUDED AT MONTREAL ON 24 FEBRUARY 1988 9. Destroying, damaging or endangering safety of aircraft 10. 10. Other acts endangering or likely to endanger the safety of aircraft 1011. A. Act of violence in relation to airport serving international civil aviation PART IV MISCELLANEOUS 11. 12. Application 12. 13. Powers of Minister 13. 14. Abetting the commission of acts outside Malaysia 14. 15. Penalty 15. 16. Consent for prosecution 16. 17. Position relating to extradition where there is no arrangement 17. 18. Amendment of Schedule SCHEDULE 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 307 AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984 An Act to give effect to the Convention on Offences and Certain other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation signed at Montreal on 23 September 1971, and the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, concluded at Montreal on 24 Februay 1988 and for purposes connected therewith. [3 June 1985, P.U. (B) 278/1985] BE IT ENACTED by the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the advice and consent of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. This Act may be cited as the Aviation Offences Act 1984 and shall come into force on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint. 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 307 Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires― ―act of violence‖ means— (a) any act done in Malaysia which constitutes the offence as specified in the Schedule; and (b) any act done outside Malaysia which, if done in Malaysia, would constitute such an offence as is mentioned in paragraph (a); ―aircraft‖ means any aircraft, whether or not a Malaysian-controlled aircraft, other than— (a) a military aircraft; or (b) an aircraft which, not being military aircraft, is exclusively employed in the service of the Government; ―commander‖, in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the crew designated as commander of that aircraft by the operator thereof or, failing such a person, the person who is for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft; ―consular officer‖ means a consular officer of Malaysia and includes a consul general, consul, proconsul and consular agent of Malaysia; ―Convention country‖ means a country which has been declared by the Minister, by notification published in the Gazette, to have ratified or acceded to the Tokyo Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced the Tokyo Convention; ―landing‖ includes alighting on water; ―Malaysian-controlled aircraft‖ means an aircraft— (a) which is for the time being registered in Malaysia; or Aviation Offences 7 (b) which, being for the time being registered in some other country, is for the time being chartered by demise to a person who, or to persons each of whom, satisfies the following requirements, namely— (i) (i) that he is a person qualified to be the owner of a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in Malaysia; and (ii) (ii) that he resides or has his principal place of business in Malaysia; ―military aircraft‖ means an aircraft of the naval, military or air forces of any country; ―military service‖ includes naval and air force services; ―operator‖, in relation to any aircraft at any time, means the person who at that time has the management of that aircraft; ―pilot in command‖, in relation to an aircraft, means a person who for the time being is in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft; ―the Convention‖ means— (a) in relation to Part III, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970; (b) in relation to Part IV, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation signed at Montreal on 23 September 1971; ―Tokyo Convention‖ means the Convention on Offences and Certain other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 307 ―unlawfully‖— (a) in relation to the commission of an act in Malaysia, means an offence that is constituted under any law in force in Malaysia; and (b) in relation to the commission of an act outside Malaysia, means the commission of the act that would have been an offence under any law in force in Malaysia had it been committed in Malaysia. (2) For the purposes of Part II, the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include— (a) any period from the moment when power is applied for the purpose of the aircraft taking off on a flight until the moment when the landing run, if any, at the termination of that flight ends; and (b) for the purposes of section 5— (i) (i) any further period from the moment when all external doors, if any, of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation after that flight; (ii) (ii) if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any period thereafter until the time when competent authorities of the country in which the forced landing takes place take over the responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board the aircraft being, if the forced landing takes place in Malaysia, the time when a police officer arrives at the place of landing, and any references in this Act to an aircraft in flight shall include a reference to an aircraft during any period when it is on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any country. Aviation Offences (3) 9 For the purposes of Parts III and IV— (a) 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; and (b) an aircraft shall be taken to be in service during the whole of the period which begins with the pre-flight preparation of the aircraft for a flight and ends twenty four hours after the aircraft lands having completed that flight, and that period shall in any event include the entire period during which the aircraft is in flight as specified in paragraph (a). (4) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a country or the territorial limits thereof shall be construed as including a reference to the territorial waters, if any, of that country. PART II PROVISIONS TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION ON OFFENCES AND CERTAIN OTHER ACTS COMMITTED ON BOARD AIRCRAFT SIGNED AT TOKYO ON 14 SEPTEMBER 1963 Application of criminal law to aircraft 3. (1) Any act or omission taking place on board a Malaysiancontrolled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia which, if taking place in Malaysia, would constitute an offence under the law in force in Malaysia, constitutes that offence: 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 307 Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any act or omission which is expressly or impliedly authorized by or under that law when taking place outside Malaysia. (2) No proceedings for any offence under the law in force in Malaysia committed on board an aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia shall be instituted in Malaysia except by or with the consent of the Public Prosecutor. (3) The provisions of subsection (2) shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of any offence, or the remanding in custody or on bail of any person charged with any offence. (4) For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, any offence under the law in force in Malaysia committed on board an aircraft in flight shall be deemed to have been committed in Malaysia. Provisions as to extradition 4. For the purposes of the application of the *Extradition Act 1992 [Act 479] to crimes committed on board an aircraft in flight, any aircraft registered in a Convention country shall, at any time while that aircraft is in flight, be deemed to be within the jurisdiction of that country, whether or not it is for the time being also within the jurisdiction of any other country. Powers of commander of aircraft 5. (1) The provisions of subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) shall have effect for the purposes of any proceeding before any court in Malaysia. (2) If the commander of an aircraft in flight, wherever that aircraft may be, has reasonable grounds to believe in respect of any person on board the aircraft— * NOTE—This Act has replaced the Extradition Ordinance 1958 [Ord. 2 of 1958] and the Commonwealth Fugitive Criminals Act 1967 [Act 54 of 1967]–see section 54 of Act 479. Aviation Offences 11 (a) that the person in question has done or is about to do any act on the aircraft while it is in flight which jeopardizes or may jeopardize— (i) (i) the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft; or (ii) good order and discipline on board the aircraft; or (ii) (b) that the person in question has done on the aircraft while in flight any act which in the opinion of the commanders is a serious offence under any law in force in the country in which the aircraft is registered, not being a law of a political nature or based on racial or religious discrimination, then, subject to subsection (4), the commander may take with respect to that person such reasonable measures, including restraint of his person, as may be necessary— (i) (i) to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft; (ii) (ii) to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft; or (iii) (iii)to enable the commander to disembark or deliver that person in accordance with subsection (5), and, for the purposes of paragraph (b), any Malaysian-controlled aircraft shall be deemed to be registered in Malaysia whether or not it is in fact so registered and whether or not it is in fact registered in some other country. (3) Any member of the crew of an aircraft and any other person on board the aircraft may, at the request or with t