United States Bases (Agreement) (Security Offences) (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1954

[25 May 1954]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

Interpretation

1 In this Act—

"the Bases" means the two Bases established in Bermuda in pursuance of the communications set out in Annex I to the United States Bases Agreement, or either of such Bases;

"court of Bermuda" includes, where the context allows, a magis trate or justice of the peace sitting in a judicial capacity;

"security offence against the United States of America" means a security offence within the meaning of the United States Bases (Agreement) Act 1952 [title 7 item 41], that is to say, any of the following offences against the United States of America and punishable under the law thereof, namely—

(i) treason;

(ii) any offence of the nature of sabotage or espi onage or relating to official secrets; or

(iii) any other offence relating to the safety of the Bases or any part thereof or relating to the safety of any equipment or other property in Bermuda of the United States of America.

Offences against Act

2 (1) Any person who, while in Bermuda, does an act or makes an omission which constitutes a security offence against the United States of America shall, if the conditions specified in paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, in paragraph (b), of subsection (2) are fulfilled, be guilty of an offence against this Act:

Provided that any proceedings taken against any person in re spect of an offence against this Act shall be without prejudice to any pro ceedings which may, by virtue of any provision of law other than is Act, be taken against him in respect of any other offence constituted by such act or omission as aforesaid.

(2) The following conditions are specified for the purposes of subsection (1), that is to say—

(a) in any case where the person who did the act or made the omission which constituted the security offence against the United States of America is a Commonwealth citizen—

(i) then the act must have been done, or, as the case may be, the omission must have been made, within a Leased Area; or

(ii) where the act was done, or, as the case may be, the omission was made, in any place not within a Leased Area, then the act or omission must be an act or omission not punishable under any provision of law other than this Act; or

(b) in any case where the person who did the act or made

the omission which constituted the security offence against the United States of America—

(i) is a local alien, that is to say, a person who, not being a Commonwealth citizen, a member of the United States Forces or a national of the United States of America, is ordinarily resident in Bermuda; or

(ii) is a person who is not a Commonwealth citizen, a local alien, a member of the United States Forces or a person subject to United States mil itary, naval or air force law,

and the act was done, or, as the case may be, the omission was made, in a place not within a Leased Area, then the act or omission must be an act or omission not punishable under any provision of law other than this Act.

(3) An offence against this Act shall, for the purposes of any provision of law other than this Act, be treated as a felony.

(4) Nothing in subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be construed so as to affect or derogate from any provision of the United States Bases (Agreement) Act 1952 [title 7 item 41] (otherwise than as respects section 8(3) thereof), under or by virtue of which exclusive jurisdiction is con ferred upon a civil court of the United States of America in respect of se curity offences against the United States of America.

(5) In this section "Leased Area" means a Leased Area within the meaning of the United States Bases (Agreement) Act 1952 [title 7 item 41].

(6) No person other than a citizen of the United States of America shall be chargeable under this Act with the offence of treason unless such person at the material time owes allegiance to the United States of America; and as to whether or not a person other than a citizen of the United States owes allegiance to the United States of America shall be a question to be decided by a Court of Bermuda.

Punishment of offences against Act

3 Subject as hereinafter provided, a person guilty of an offence against this Act—

(a) shall, if the offence is treason, be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life;

(b) shall, if the offence, not being treason, is an offence re lated to treason, be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years;

(c) shall, if the offence is an offence of the nature of sabo tage or espionage or relating to official secrets, be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years;

(d) shall, if the offence is any other offence relating to the safety of the Bases or any part thereof, or relating to the safety of any equipment or other property in Bermuda of the United States of America, be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years;

and those provisions of the Criminal Code [title 8 item 31] which relate to the punish ment of a person convicted of attempting or conspiring to commit an of fence, or of being an accessory to the commission of an offence, shall have effect accordingly:

Provided that—

(i) in any case where the provision of the law of the United States of America which provides for the punishment for a security offence against the United States of America declares the maximum punishment for a first conviction of that security offence to be a term of imprisonment shorter than the term which by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section might otherwise be im posed by a court of Bermuda in respect of that security offence, then in any such case such shorter term shall be deemed to be the maxi mum term of imprisonment which may be im posed by a court of Bermuda in respect of an offence against this Act arising out of the doing of an act or the making of an omission consti tuting that security offence;

(ii) in any case where the provision of the law of the United States of America which provides for the punishment for a security offence against the United States of America declares the maximum punishment for a first conviction of that security offence to be a fine only, then in any

such case an offence against this Act arising out of the doing of an act or the making of an omission constituting that security offence shall be deemed to be punishable by a court of Bermuda with a fine only, of an amount not exceeding $1,680;

and the foregoing provisions of this proviso shall have effect, pari passu, with respect to the maximum punishment which may be imposed by a court of Bermuda upon a person convicted of attempting or conspiring to commit a security offence against the United States of America, and upon a person convicted of being an accessory to the commission of any such security offence,

Consent of Attorney General with respect to institution of prosecu tions

4 No prosecution shall be instituted or carried on in respect of an offence against this Act without the consent of the Attorney-General.

Application of Acts; declaration regarding exclusion of certain provi sions of the law of the United States of America

5 The provisions of the Criminal Code [title 8 item 31], the Evidence Act 1905 [title 8 item 10], the Indictable Offences Act 1929 [title 8 item 32], and the Young Offenders Act 1950 [title 10 item 33], shall have full force and ef fect in relation to the commission of an offence against this Act and to any proceedings taken against any person before a court of Bermuda or by any other tribunal or authority of Bermuda in respect of a charge of any such offence; and the following provisions of this section shall have effect so as to exclude, in connection with any proceedings taken in re spect of an offence against this Act, the taking into consideration of any of the provisions of the law of the United States of America mentioned in the said following provision, that is to say—

(a) no provision of the law of the United States of America which has effect so as to declare criminal responsibility (otherwise than to declare the elements of a specific of fence) shall be construed so as to derogate from or abridge any provision of any Act relating to criminal re sponsibility;

(b) no provision of the law of the United States of America relating to the practice or procedure of any court or other tribunal or authority shall be construed so as to affect the practice or procedure of any court of Bermuda or of any other tribunal or authority of Bermuda with re spect to any proceedings taken against a person sus pected of having committed, or charged with the com mission of, an offence against this Act;

(c) no provision of the law of the United States of America relating to the method of proof, or to the burden of proving, any matter shall be taken into account in con nection with any proceedings taken in respect of an of fence against this Act;

(d) no provision of the law of the United States of America whereby a fine may be, or is to be, imposed upon a per son convicted of a security offence against the United States of America shall (except as provided in section 3) have effect so as to authorize or require the imposition of a fine of that or any other amount upon a person con victed of an offence against this Act; and

(e) no provision of the law of the United States of America whereby any forfeiture or disqualification may be, or is to be, imposed on any person convicted of a security of fence against the United States of America shall have effect, or be taken into consideration, with respect to the manner in which a court of Bermuda deals with a per son convicted of an offence against this Act.

Interpretation of provisions of law of the United States of America relating to security offences

6 Notwithstanding anything in section 5, any provision of the statute law of the United States of America which relates to a security offence against the United States of America and which comes in ques tion in any proceedings taken before a court of Bermuda in respect of an offence against this Act shall, for the purposes of those proceedings, be interpreted according to the law of the United States of America for the time being in force.

Proof of the law of the United States of America etc

7 Notwithstanding anything in any provision of law other than this Act, but without prejudice to any other method of proof, it shall, in any pro ceedings taken in respect of an offence against this Act, be proof

prima facie—

(a) of the terms of any provisions of the statute law of the United States of America; or

(b) of the terms of any judgment of a court of the United States of America,

to produce—

(i) a document purporting to be printed under the authority of the Government of the United States of America and purporting to set forth such terms; or

(ii) a document purporting to set forth such terms and purporting to be certified as correct by a Consul General or Consul of the United States of America for the time being discharging his du ties as such in Bermuda.

Collective title of Acts

8 This Act may be cited together with the United States Bases Agreement) Act 1952 [title 7 item 41], as the United States Bases (Agreement) Acts, 1952 to 1954.

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Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

United States Bases (Agreement) (Security Offences) (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1954