7Criminal laws applicable in relation to certain foreign ships

##### 7 Criminal laws applicable in relation to certain foreign ships (1) This section applies in relation to: (a) any act that is committed on or from a foreign ship: (i) at a time when the ship is beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea of Australia (but is not within the outer limits of the territorial sea adjacent to an external Territory or the outer limits of the territorial sea of a foreign country) in the course of a voyage to a place in Australia or an external Territory; or (ii) in the case of a ship that is engaged in fishing or in respect of which a licence is in force under the Fisheries Act 1952 or a foreign fishing licence or a port permit is in force under the Fisheries Management Act 1991—at a time when the ship is in the Australian fishing zone beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea of Australia but is not within the outer limits of the territorial sea adjacent to an external Territory; (b) any act that is committed beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea of Australia (but not within the outer limits of the territorial sea adjacent to an external Territory or within the outer limits of the territorial sea of a foreign country) by a survivor of the wreck or sinking of a foreign ship if, immediately before the ship was wrecked or sunk, the ship was in the course of a voyage referred to in subparagraph (a)(i); and (c) any act that is committed in the Australian fishing zone beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea of Australia (but not within the outer limits of the territorial sea adjacent to an external Territory) by a survivor of the wreck or sinking of a foreign ship if, immediately before the ship was wrecked or sunk, the ship was engaged in fishing or a licence was in force in respect of the ship under the Fisheries Act 1952 or a foreign fishing licence or a port permit was in force in respect of the ship under the Fisheries Management Act 1991. (2) For the purposes of this section, a ship shall be taken to be in the course of a voyage to a place in Australia or an external Territory if at the time of the ship’s departure from the last preceding place of call of the ship it was intended that the next place of call of the ship would be a place in Australia or an external Territory. (3) If the person who committed an act in relation to which this section applies enters, or is brought into, a State or Territory, the provisions of the criminal laws in force in that State or Territory apply, and shall be deemed to have always applied, to and in relation to that act and so apply, and shall be deemed to have always so applied, as if that act had been committed in that State or Territory. (4) In a prosecution of a person who is not an Australian citizen for an offence against a provision of the criminal laws in force in a State or Territory as applying by virtue of subsection (3), it is a defence if that person establishes that the act constituting the offence would not have constituted an offence against the law of the country of which he is a national if the act had taken place in that country. (5) Proceedings for an offence against a provision of the criminal laws in force in a State or Territory as applying by virtue of subsection (3) in relation to an act committed on or from a foreign ship (other than proceedings for an offence against a law relating to fisheries) shall not be heard or determined, and, in the case of an indictable offence, proceedings with a view to the committal of a person for the offence shall not take place, except with the consent in writing of the Attorney‑General. (6) Where a country other than Australia has jurisdiction under international law in relation to a foreign ship, the Attorney‑General shall not give his consent under subsection (5) in relation to an act committed on or from that ship unless he is satisfied that the government of that country has consented to the institution of the proceedings. (7) Subsection (6) does not apply in relation to an act that the Attorney‑General is satisfied is of a piratical character. (8) Notwithstanding that a consent has not been given in relation to an offence in accordance with subsection (5): (a) a person may be arrested for the offence, and a warrant for an arrest of a person for the offence may be issued and executed; (b) a person may be charged with the offence; and (c) a person so charged may be remanded in custody or on bail. (9) Where the Attorney‑General has given his consent under subsection (5) to proceedings with a view to the committal of a person for an indictable offence, that consent shall be taken as sufficient consent to: (a) the committal of any person in relation to that offence or in relation to any other offence for which the person may be committed as a result of those proceedings; and (b) the hearing and determination of the proceedings for any offence for which a person is so committed. (10) In proceedings requiring the consent of the Attorney‑General under subsection (5), a document purporting to be that consent is evidence, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary is conclusive evidence, of the matters stated in the document, and it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is established, that the consent has been duly given.