roposal
5.
The provisions of the 1971 Act as applied to Hong Kong by
the 1971 Order will lapse as part of Hong Kong law on 30 June 1997.
The British side therefore proposes to introduce a Bill to localise
those provisions. The localising Ordinance, if enacted, will, with
certain exceptions mentioned in para. 6 below, make it an offence in
Hong Kong for a person, of whatever nationality, to do any act, in
Hong Kong or elsewhere, which constitutes the offence of unlawful
seizure of an aircraft in flight, whatever the State in which the
aircraft is registered. It will also make certain acts of violence
against the passengers or crew of an aircraft offences in Hong Kong,
whatever the nationality of the offender and wherever the aircraft
is registered, if the act is in connection with a hijacking or
attempted hijacking.
6.
The British side proposes that in the case of aircraft
used in military, customs or police service or where both the place
of take-off and the place of landing are in the territory of the
State of registration, the offence of hijacking will only be
committed if the person seizing or exercising control of the
aircraft is a British national, or the act is committed in Hong
Kong, or the aircraft is registered in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong
or another overseas territory. This is the law at present applied
to Hong Kong by the 1971 Order and reflects the provisions of the
Convention.