Commencement: 30/1/89

REPUBLIC OF VANUATU

THE PENAL CODE (AMENDMENT) ACT No. 29 OF 1988

Arrangement of Sections

1. Replacement of section 146 of Act No. 17 of 1981

2. Commencement

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THE PENAL CODE (AMENDMENT) ACT

No. 29 OF 1988

Assent: 18/1/89
Commencement: 30/1/89

An Act to amend the Penal Code Act No. 17 of 1981.

BE IT ENACTED by the President and Parliament as follows:

REPLACEMENT OF SECTION 146 OF ACT No. 17 OF 1981

1. Section 146 of the Penal Code Act No. 17 of 1981 is repealed and the following section is substituted therefor:

“Hijacking of aircraft

146 (1) No person shall unlawfully and intentionally:

(a) perform an act of violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight of that act is likely to endanger the safety of that aircraft, or

(b) destroy an aircraft in service or cause damage to such an aircraft which renders it incapable of flight or which is likely to endanger its safety in flight; or

(c) place or cause to be placed on an aircraft in service, by any means whatsoever, a device or substance which is likely to destroy that aircraft, or to cause damage to it which renders it incapable of flight or to cause damage to it which is likely to endanger its safety in flight; or

(d) destroy or damage air navigation facilities or interfere with their operation, if any such act is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight ; or

(e) communicate information which he knows to be false, thereby endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight.

Penalty: Imprisonment for life.

(2) No person on board an aircraft in flight shall unlawfully, by force or, threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seize, or exercise control of, that aircraft, or attempt to perform any such act.

Penalty: Imprisonment for life.

(3) For the purposes of this section:

(a) an aircraft is considered to be in flight at any time from the moment when all its external doors are closed following embarkation until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation; in the case of a forced landing, the flight shall be deemed to continue until the competent authorities take over the responsibility for the aircraft and for persons and property on board.

(b) an aircraft is considered to be in service from the beginning of the pre-flight preparation of the aircraft by ground personnel or by the crew for a specific flight until twenty-four hours after any landing; the period of service shall, in any event, extend for the entire period during which the aircraft is in flight as defined in paragraph (a) of this subsection.”

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette.

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