Section 1, The Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft Act, 1974 [Margin: Short title.]

(1) Any person who within Sierra Leone or abroad unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seizes, or exercises control of, an aircraft in flight shall be guilty of the offence of unlawful seizure of aircraft and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for life. [Margin: Local jurisdiction where offence committed abroad.] (2) Where an offence punishable under subsection (1) has been committed outside Sierra Leone by a person who is found in any part of Sierra Leone, the offence shall be deemed to have been committed in that part of Sierra Leone and proceedings in respect thereof may be brought in any court in Sierra Leone which would have jurisdiction if the offence had been committed in that part of Sierra Leone for which the court acts: Provided that for the purpose of extradition, the offence shall be treated as if it had been committed not only in the place in which it occurred but also in territories of— (a) the State of registration of the aircraft involved; (b) the State in which the said aircraft has landed with the alleged offender on board; and (c) the State in which the lessee, if any, of the aircraft involved, has his principal place of business, or, if he has no such place of business, his permanent residence, provided the aircraft had been leased without crew. [Margin: When subsection (1) not applicable.] (3) Subsection (1) shall not apply, if— (a) the aircraft is used in military, customs or police service, or (b)both the place of take-off and the place of landing are in the territory of the State in which the aircraft is registered. [Margin: Interpretation.] (4) For the purposes of this section the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include any period from the moment when all its external doors are closed following embarkation until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation, and, in the case of a forced landing, any period until the competent authorities take over responsibility for the aircraft and for persons and property on board. (5) For the purposes of this section the territorial waters of any State shall be treated as part of its territory. (6) In this section "military service" includes naval and air force service. No. 2 Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 1974 A[illegible] [Margin: Jurisdiction in respect of other offences.]