Hong Kong Regulations

FUGITIVE OFFENDERS (SAFETY OF CIVIL AVIATION) ORDER - SCHEDULE 1

CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL SEIZURE OF AIRCRAFT

[section 2]

PREAMBLE

THE STATES PARTIES TO THIS CONVENTION

CONSIDERING that unlawful acts of seizure or exercise of control of aircraft
in flight jeopardize the safety of persons and property, seriously affect the
operation of air services, and undermine the confidence of the peoples of the
world in the safety of civil aviation;

CONSIDERING that the occurrence of such acts is a matter of grave concern;

CONSIDERING that, for the purpose of deterring such acts, there is an urgent
need to provide appropriate measures for punishment of offenders;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

ARTICLE 1

Any person who on board an aircraft in flight:

   (a)  unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of
        intimidation, seizes, or exercises control of, that aircraft, or
        attempts to perform any such act, or

   (b)  is an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform any
        such act
commits an offence (hereinafter referred to as "the offence").

ARTICLE 2

Each Contracting State undertakes to make the offence punishable by severe
penalties.

ARTICLE 3

1. For the purposes of this Convention, 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.

2. This Convention shall not apply to aircraft used in military, customs or
police services.

3. This Convention shall apply only if the place of take-off or the place of
actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offence is committed is
situated outside the territory of the State of registration of that aircraft;
it shall be immaterial whether the aircraft is engaged in an international or
domestic flight.

4. In the cases mentioned in Article 5, this Convention shall not apply if the
place of take-off and the place of actual landing of the aircraft on board
which the offence is committed are situated within the territory of the same
State where that State is one of those referred to in that Article.

5. Notwithstanding paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10
shall apply whatever the place of take-off or the place of actual landing of
the aircraft, if the offender or the alleged offender is found in the
territory of a State other than the State of registration of that aircraft.

ARTICLE 4

1. Each Contracting State shall take such measures as may be necessary to
establish its jurisdiction over the offence and any other act of violence
against passengers or crew committed by the alleged offender in connection
with the offence, in the following cases:

   (a)  when the offence is committed on board an aircraft registered in that
        State;

   (b)  when the aircraft on board which the offence is committed lands in its
        territory with the alleged offender still on board;

   (c)  when the offence is committed on board an aircraft leased without crew
        to a lessee who has his principal place of business or, if the lessee
        has no such place of business, his permanent residence, in that State.

2. Each Contracting State shall likewise take such measures as may be
necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offence in the case where the
alleged offender is present in its territory and it does not extradite him
pursuant to Article 8 to any of the States mentioned in paragraph 1 of this
Article.

3. This Convention does not exclude any criminal jurisdiction exercised in
accordance with national law.

ARTICLE 5

The Contracting States which establish joint air transport operating
organization or international operating agencies, which operate aircraft which
are subject to joint or international registration shall, by appropriate
means, designate for each aircraft the State among them which shall exercise
the jurisdiction and have the attributes of the State of registration for the
purpose of this Convention and shall give notice thereof to the International
Civil Aviation Organization which shall communicate the notice to all States
Parties to this Convention.

ARTICLE 6

1. Upon being satisfied that the circumstances so warrant, any Contracting
State in the territory of which the offender or the alleged offender is
present, shall take him into custody or take other measures to ensure his
presence. The custody and other measures shall be as provided in the law of
that State but may only be continued for such time as is necessary to enable
any criminal or extradition proceedings to be instituted.

2. Such State shall immediately make a preliminary enquiry into the facts.

3. Any person in custody pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be
assisted in communicating immediately with the nearest appropriate
representative of the State of which he is a national.

4. When a State, pursuant to this Article, has taken a person into custody, it
shall immediately notify the State of registration of the aircraft, the State
mentioned in Article 4, paragraph 1(c), the State of nationality of the
detained person and, if it considers it advisable, any other interested States
of the fact that such person is in custody and of the circumstances which
warrant his detention. The State which makes the preliminary enquiry
contemplated in paragraph 2 of this Article shall promptly report its findings
to the said States and shall indicate whether it intends to exercise
jurisdiction.

ARTICLE 7

The Contracting State in the territory of which the alleged offender is found
shall, if it does not extradite him, be obliged, without exception whatsoever
and whether or not the offence was committed in its territory, to submit the
case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Those
authorities shall take their decision in the same manner as in the case of any
ordinary offence of a serious nature under the law of that State.

ARTICLE 8

1. The offence shall be deemed to be included as an extraditable offence in
any extradition treaty existing between Contracting States. Contracting States
undertake to include the offence as an extraditable offence in every
extradition treaty to be concluded between them.

2. If a Contracting State which makes extradition conditional on the existence
of a treaty receives a request for extradition from another Contracting State
with which it has no extradition treaty, it may at its option consider this
Convention as the legal basis for extradition in respect of the offence.
Extradition shall be subject to the other conditions provided by the law of
the requested State.

3. Contracting States which do not make extradition conditional on the
existence of a treaty shall recognize the offence as an extraditable offence
between themselves subject to the conditions provided by the law of the
requested State.

4. The offence shall be treated, for the purpose of extradition between
Contracting States, as if it had been committed not only in the place in which
it occurred but also in the territories of the States required to establish
their jurisdiction in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1.

ARTICLE 9

1. When any of the acts mentioned in Article 1(a) has occurred or is about to
occur, Contracting States shall take all appropriate measures to restore
control of the aircraft to its lawful commander or to preserve his control of
the aircraft.

2. In the cases contemplated by the preceding paragraph, any Contracting State
in which the aircraft or its passengers or crew are present shall facilitate
the continuation of the journey of the passengers and crew as soon as
practicable, and shall without delay return the aircraft and its cargo to the
persons lawfully entitled to possession.

ARTICLE 10

1. Contracting States shall afford one another the greatest measure of
assistance in connection with criminal proceedings brought in respect of
the offence and other acts mentioned in Article 4. The law of the State
requested shall apply in all cases.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not affect obligations
under any other treaty, bilateral or multilateral, which governs or will
govern, in whole or in part, mutual assistance in criminal matters.

ARTICLE 11

Each Contracting State shall in accordance with its national law report to the
Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization as promptly as
possible any relevant information in its possession concerning:

   (a)  the circumstances of the offence;

   (b)  the action taken pursuant to Article 9;

   (c)  the measures taken in relation to the offender or the alleged
        offender, and, in particular, the results of any extradition
        proceedings or other legal proceedings.

ARTICLE 12

1. Any dispute between two or more Contracting States concerning the
interpretation or application of this Convention which cannot be settled
through negotiation, shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to
arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for arbitration
the Parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any
one of those Parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of
Justice by request in conformity with the Statute of the Court.

2. Each State may at the time of signature or ratification of this Convention
or accession thereto, declare that it does not consider itself bound by the
preceding paragraph. The other Contracting States shall not be bound by the
preceding paragraph with respect to any Contracting State having made such a
reservation.

3. Any Contracting State having made a reservation in accordance with the
preceding paragraph may at any time withdraw this reservation by notification
to the Depositary Governments.

ARTICLE 13

1. This Convention shall be open for signature at The Hague on 16 December
1970, by States participating in the International Conference on Air Law held
at The Hague from 1 to 16 December 1970 (hereinafter referred to as The Hague
Conference). After 31 December 1970, the Convention shall be open to all
States for signature in Moscow, London and Washington. Any State which does
not sign this Convention before its entry into force in accordance with
paragraph 3 of this Article may accede to it at any time.

2. This Convention shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States.
Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be deposited
with the Governments of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of
America, which are hereby designated the Depositary Governments.

3. This Convention shall enter into force thirty days following the date of
the deposit of instruments of ratification by ten States signatory to this
Convention which participated in The Hague Conference.(1)

4. For other States, this Convention shall enter into force on the date of
entry into force of this Convention in accordance with paragraph 3 of this
Article, or thirty days following the date of deposit of their instruments of
ratification or accession, whichever is later.

5. The Depositary Governments shall promptly inform all signatory and acceding
States of the date of each signature, the date of deposit of each instrument
of ratification or accession, the date of entry into force of this Convention,
and other notices.

6. As soon as this Convention comes into force, it shall be registered by the
Depositary Governments pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations(2) and pursuant to Article 83 of the Convention on International Civil
Aviation (Chicago, 1944).(3)

ARTICLE 14

1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by written notification
to the Depositary Governments.

2. Denunciation shall take effect six months following the date on which
notification is received by the Depositary Governments.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, being duly authorised
thereto by their Governments, have signed this Convention.

DONE at The Hague, this sixteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred
and seventy, in three originals, each being drawn up in four authentic texts
in the English, French, Russian and Spanish languages.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________ Note:

(1) The Convention entered into force on 14 October 1971.

(2) Treaty Series No. 67 (1946), Cmd. 7015.

(3) Treaty Series No. 8 (1953), Cmd. 8742.