Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000: Amendment: Law Drafting Request

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A decision made 7 March 2013 regarding:

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2013-0017
Decision Summary Title :	Minor amendment to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 – law drafting request		Date of Decision Summary:	5 March 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Executive Officer Home Affairs		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	Minor amendment to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 – law drafting request		Date of Written Report:	5 March 2013
Written Report Author:	Executive Officer Home Affairs		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Minor amendment to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 – law drafting request.
Decision(s): The Minister approved a minor amendment to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 and asked the Executive Officer, Home Affairs, to liaise with the Law Draftsman to request the preparation of the amendment.
Reason(s) for Decision: In a recent judgment, where the defendant was charged, inter alia, with possessing an offensive weapon (knife) in a public place, the Inferior Number of the Royal Court recommended that Article 43 of the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 be slightly amended to align the Jersey Law with the statutory equivalent in the UK, the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. The Minister agrees with this proposal.
Resource Implications: There are no additional resource or manpower implications for the Home Affairs Department arising from this decision.
Action required: The Executive Officer, Home Affairs, to liaise with the Law Draftsman to request that a minor amendment be made to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Home Affairs
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000: Amendment: Law Drafting Request

Report for the Minister for Home Affairs

Proposed amendment to the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000

Article 43 of the Firearms (Jersey) Law 2000 (‘the Law’) is entitled ‘Prohibition on the carrying of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse’ and reads as follows:

(1) Any person who without lawful authority or reasonable excuse (the proof of which shall lie on the person) has with him or her in any public place any offensive weapon, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of 4 years and to a fine.

(2) Where any person is convicted of an offence under paragraph (1) the court may make an order for the forfeiture or disposal of any weapon in respect of which the offence was committed.

(3) In this Article “offensive weapon” means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him or her for such use by him or her

In a recent court case, a defendant was sentenced for two offences, one of which was having an offensive weapon (a knife) in a public place, contrary to Article 43(1) of the Law. As part of the reasoned judgment in relation to the sentencing, the Inferior Number of the Royal Court expressed the view that the wording of Article 43 of the Law was not dissimilar from Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. Therefore, it was felt by the Court that it was legitimate for them to have regard to decisions of the English courts on that statutory provision.

In considering the provisions of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, the Court noted that Section 1(4) of the Act reads as follows:

In this section “public place” includes any highway, or in Scotland any road within the meaning of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984] and any other premises or place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise; and “offensive weapon” means any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him or by some other person. (my emphasis)

Mindful that the Law does not contain the highlighted words, the Inferior Number of the Royal Court opined that there should be an amendment to the Law to bring the Law on an equal footing with the wording of the 1953 Act and said, “There is no obvious reason why a person should be in theory able to escape liability under Article 43 of the 2000 Law by establishing that he was carrying the offensive weapon with the intention that his friend would use it rather than that he himself would do so.”

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Minister gives effect to the recommendation of the Inferior Number of the Royal Court by asking the Executive Officer, Home Affairs, to liaise with the Law Draftsman and request this minor amendment to the Law.

Executive Officer, Home Affairs

5 March 2013