Tokyo Convention Act,1975
Act No : 20
Section : PRELIMINARY
TOKYO CONVENTION ACT, 1975
20 of 1975
8th May, 1975
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS A Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft was drawn up at an international conference held in Tokyo in 1963 by the representatives of 61 Governments. A representative of the Government of India was also present at the conference.
2. The Convention, which has come to be referred to as the Tokyo Convention, came into force on the 4th December. 1969. Apart from the International Civil Aviation Organisation. International non -Governmental Organisations like the International Air Trans - port Association (IATA) and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) have urged upon States to ratify the Tokyo Convention. Presently the Convention has been ratified by 74 States.
3. The scope of the Convention is not an unlimited one and it specifically excludes offences of political, religious or racial nature. Further, the Convention, does not in any way interfere with the principle of sovereignty. The Convention provides that in cases of hijacking the control of the aircraft and passengers should be restored by contracting States.
4. The salient features of the Convention are:-
(a) Nature of acts to which the Convention applies: The Convention covers of- fences committed on board an aircraft which are against the penal laws of a State as also acts which may or do jeopardise the safety of the aircraft, or of persons or property therein, or good order and discipline on board an air- craft.
(b) Jurisdiction: In respect of offences and acts committed on board an aircraft, the Convention, without prejudice to the exercise of jurisdiction by the State over whose air space the offence was committed, confers jurisdiction on the State of registration of the aircraft
(c) Powers of Commanders: The Convention empowers the aircraft commander and other members of the crew to take reasonable measures, including restraint, to prevent commission of the acts to which the Convention applies and to disembark the offender, or to deliver him to the local authorities, in the State where the aircraft lands.
(d) Aircraft lo which the Convention does not apply:
The Convention does not apply to aircraft used in military, customs or police services.
5. The increasing number of hijacking incidents in recent years has lent urgency to the task of evolving uniform measures by all the States with a view to effectively dealing with such incidents. The Convention marks the first determined effort on the part of the international community to meet the situation arising out of such incidents of hijacking. 6, The Bill mainly, seeks to achieve the objectives underlying the Convention.-Gaz. of Ind.. 11-11-1974, Pt. II, S. 2. Ext., p. 1020.
An Act to give effect to the Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft. WHEREAS a Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft was on the fourteenth day of September, 1963, signed at Tokyo;
AND WHEREAS it is expedient that India should accede to the said Convention and should make provisions for giving effect thereto; BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER 01 PRELIMINARY
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