Visiting Forces Act 1952

Last updated

Visiting Forces Act 1952 [1]
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Variant 1, 2022).svg
Long title An Act to make provision with respect to naval, military and air forces of certain other countries visiting the United Kingdom, and to provide for the apprehension and disposal of deserters or absentees without leave in the United Kingdom from the forces of such countries; to enable corresponding provision to be made in the law of colonies and dependencies; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation 15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 67
Territorial extent 
  • England and Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent 30 October 1952
Commencement 12 June 1954 [2]
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes Allied Forces Act 1940
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Visiting Forces Act 1952 (15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2. c. 67) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents

Section 3 provides immunity against prosecution for certain offences in the courts of United Kingdom by members of visiting forces and, by virtue of the 1964 Act, international headquarters. See offence against the person and offence against property for the meaning of those terms.

The Act is extended by section 1(2) of, and the Schedule to the International Headquarters and Defence Organisations Act 1964.

Extent

The Act applies specifically to the forces of the countries (mostly members of the Commonwealth of Nations) listed in s.1(1)(a) (as amended from time to time) and additionally to the forces of any other country authorised by an Order in Council.

The Act is in force throughout the United Kingdom.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species, controls the release of non-native species, enhances the protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and builds upon the rights of way rules in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The Act is split into 4 parts covering 74 sections; it also includes 17 schedules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in the United Kingdom</span> Police in the United Kingdom

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by those who hold the office of police constable of a territorial police force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual Offences Act 2003</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

In law, coming into force or entry into force is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this transition. The point at which such instrument comes into effect may be set out in the instrument itself, or after the lapse of a certain period, or upon the happening of a certain event, such as a proclamation or an objective event, such as the birth, marriage, reaching a particular age or death of a certain person. On rare occasions, the effective date of a law may be backdated to a date before the enactment.

Visiting Forces Act is a title often given to laws governing the status of military personnel while they are visiting areas under the jurisdiction of another country and/or while forces of one country are attached to or serving with forces of another country.

In criminal law, the term offence against the person or crime against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person.

False accounting is a legal term for a type of fraud, considered a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy Act 1837</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Piracy Act 1837 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for most offences of piracy, but created a new offence often known as piracy with violence, which was punishable with death. This offence still exists in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland, but is no longer punishable by death in either country.

An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting and apprehending those that have breached the border and removing them, or pursuing those in breach of immigration and criminal laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police Act 1996</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Police Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted police authorities for those areas, and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and the English and Welsh territorial police forces. It replaced the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994, which in turn had replaced the Police Act 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military courts of the United Kingdom</span>

The military courts of the United Kingdom are governed by the Armed Forces Act 2006. The system set up under the Act applies to all three armed services: the Royal Navy (RN), the British Army, and the Royal Air Force (RAF), and replaces the three parallel systems that were previously in existence.

A civilian subject to service discipline is someone who, whilst not a member of the British Armed Forces, is nevertheless subject to some aspects of British military law and the military justice system.

The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.

The powers of the police in England and Wales are defined largely by statute law, with the main sources of power being the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Police Act 1996. This article covers the powers of police officers of territorial police forces only, but a police officer in one of the UK's special police forces can utilise extended jurisdiction powers outside of their normal jurisdiction in certain defined situations as set out in statute. In law, police powers are given to constables. All police officers in England and Wales are "constables" in law whatever their rank. Certain police powers are also available to a limited extent to police community support officers and other non warranted positions such as police civilian investigators or designated detention officers employed by some police forces even though they are not constables.

MDP officers are attested as constables in one of the three jurisdictions of the United Kingdom: England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but can exercise their powers in matters relating to the Ministry of Defence Estate throughout the United Kingdom, and additionally in the circumstances described below. MDP officers' jurisdiction relates to a subject rather than geographic area and is set out in section 2 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987, which was amended by the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. MDP officers are based throughout the UK and exercise their jurisdiction over matters connected with the Defence Estate; there is no requirement for them to be on Ministry of Defence land when doing so.

Abstracting electricity is a statutory offence of dishonestly using, wasting, or diverting electricity, covered by different legislation in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The law applies, for instance, in cases of bypassing an electricity meter, reconnecting a disconnected meter, or unlawfully obtaining a free telephone call. In Low v Blease [1975] Crim LR 513 it was held that electricity could not be stolen as it is not property within the meaning of section 4 of the Theft Act 1968. In one reported case in 2015 a man was arrested for abstracting electricity by charging his mobile telephone on a train, but was ultimately not charged. Before the Computer Misuse Act 1990 those who misused computers ("hackers") were charged with abstracting electricity, as no other law applied.

Removing article from place open to the public is a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Assault with intent to resist arrest is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

References

  1. This short title is conferred by section 19(1) of this Act.
  2. "The Visiting Forces Act, 1952 (Commencement) Order 1954 (SI 1954/633)". legislation.gov.uk.