1969-HKRS30-8-59_Part01 — Page 19

Interpretation, exp

7. (1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say......

"aircraft" means any aircraft, whether or not a British-controlled

aircrafı, other than-

(a) a military aircraft; or

(b) an aircraft which, not being a military aircraft, belongs to or is exclusively employed in the service of Her Majesty in right of the United Kingdom or in right of any Territory;

but the Governor of any Territory with the approval of the Secretary of State may by order, which may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order, provide that any of the provisions of this Act shall apply with or without modifications to aircraft such as are mentioned in paragraph (b) of this definition:

"British-controlled aircraft" means an aircraft-

(a) which is for the time being registered in the United

Kingdom or in any Territory; or

(6) which is not for the time being registered in any country but in the case of which either the operator of the air- craft or each person entitled as owner to any legal o beneficial interest in it satisfies the following require ments, namely—

that be is a person qualified to be the owner of a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in the United Kingdom or in any Territory; and (i) that he resides or has his principal place of business in the United Kingdom or in any Territory; or

(c) which, being for the time being registered fo some other country, is for the time being chartered by dentise to a person who, or to petsons cach of whom, satisfies the requirements aforesaid;

"commander" in relation to an aircraft means the member of the crew designated as commander of thal aircraft by the operator therçol, or, failing such a person, the person who is for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft,

"competent authority" means the Attorney-General of the Territory, or, where some other authority has general responsibility for and control of public prosecutions, that authority:

"Convention country" means a country in which the Tokyo conven- tion is for the time being in force; and any Order of Her Majesty in Council made under this Act and for the time being in force certifying that any country specified in the Order is for the time being a Convention country shall be conclusivo evidence that the country in question is for the time being a Convention country; "Governor”, în relation to any Territory, means the officer for the time being administering the Government of that Territory; "military aircraft" means—

(2) an aircraft of the naval, military or air forces of any

country; or

(b) any other aircraft in respect of which there is in force a certificate issued in accordance with any Order in Council in force under the Civil Aviation Act 1949 that the air- craft is to be treated for the purposes of that Order in Council as a military aircraft;

and a certificate of the Secretary of State or of the Governor of any Territory that any aircraft is or is not a military aircraft for the purposes of this Act shall be conclusive evidence of the fact certified:

"operator" in relation to any aircraft at any time means the person

who at that time has the management of that aircraft;

"pilot in command" in relation to an aircraft mcans a person who for the time being is in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft: "Tokyo Convention" means the Convention on Offences and certain other Acts Committed on board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14tb September 1963.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the period during which an aircraft is in fight shall be deemed to include.....

(a) any period from the moment when power is applied for the purpose of the aircraft taking off on a flight until the moment when the landing run (if any) at the termination of that flight ends, and

(6) for the purposes of section 3 of this Act-

(1) any further period from the moment when all external doors, if any, of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation after that fight; and

(ii) if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any period thereafter until the time when competent authorities of the country in which the forced landing takes place take over the respon- sibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board the aircraft (being, if the forced landing takes place in the Territory, the time when an officer having functions cor- responding to the functions in the United Kingdom of a constable arrives at the place of landing):

and any reference in this Act to un aircraft in flight shall include a reference to an aircraft during any period when it is on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any country.

(3) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, any reference to any Territory or to any other country or the territorial limits thereof shall be construed as including a reference to the territorial waters, if any, of that Territory or country, and any reference to any Act (includ- ing this Act) or to any provision thereof shall be construed as including a reference to that Act or to that provision as extended to any Territory.

(4) For the purpose of construing this Act as part of the law of any Territory to which it extends, "the Territory" means that Territory and "any Territory" means any of the Territories to which this Act extends.

(5) Any order of the Board of Trade for the time being in force in the United Kingdom by virtue of section 7(4) of this Act as in force in