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Aircraft Arrests

Answer

In England and Wales, a constable may arrest a person without a warrant under section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. Section 17 provides a constable with the power to enter and search any premises for the purpose of arresting a person for an arrestable offence. An aircraft falls within the definition of premises.Similar provisions exist in Northern Ireland under Article 26 and Article 18 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.In Scotland, a constable may detain a person without a warrant under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 where he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has committed or is committing an offence punishable by imprisonment. Section 14 does not contain any power to enter and search premises prior to detention without a warrant. If the police are satisfied that there is evidence that a person or persons have committed a crime, they can arrest them without warrant at common law where that is necessary in the interests of justice.UK police do not have the authority to arrest if the aircraft in question is a military aircraft as this has special status in international law even when it is on the ground. The aircraft and anything inside remains the sovereign territory of the foreign military. This is a recognised principle of international law based on the doctrine of state immunity, where a state enjoys immunity in respect of itself and its property, from the jurisdiction of the courts of another state.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

33939; 441 c344-5W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Arrests Aircraft Airports Police Powers Passengers

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk