Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The substantive criminal law of the Jervis Bay Territory , as in force from time to time, applies at sea outside the adjacent area to a criminal act:
(a) on an Australian ship; or
(b) in the course of activities controlled from an Australian ship; or
(c) of a person who has abandoned, or temporarily left, an Australian ship and has not returned to land.
(2) The substantive criminal law of the Jervis Bay Territory , as in force from time to time, applies at sea outside the adjacent area to a criminal act:
(a) of an Australian citizen (other than a member of the crew) on a foreign ship; or
(b) of an Australian citizen (other than a member of the crew) in the course of activities controlled from a foreign ship; or
(c) of an Australian citizen who has abandoned, or temporarily left, a foreign ship and has not returned to land.
(3) The substantive criminal law of the Jervis Bay Territory , as in force from time to time, is taken to have applied at sea outside the adjacent area to a criminal act:
(a) on a foreign ship; or
(b) in the course of activities controlled from a foreign ship; or
(c) of a person who has abandoned, or temporarily left, a foreign ship and has not returned to land;
if the first country at which the ship calls, or the person lands, after the criminal act, is Australia or an external territory of Australia .
(4) A charge of an offence that arises under this section cannot proceed to hearing or determination or, if the offence is an indictable offence, to preliminary examination in committal proceedings, unless the Attorney - General consents in writing to the hearing and determination of the charge.
(5) Before granting such a consent, the Attorney - General must take into account any views expressed by the government of a country other than Australia whose jurisdiction over the alleged offence is recognised under principles of international law.
(6) Even though the Attorney - General has not granted such a consent, the absence of consent is not to prevent or delay:
(a) the arrest of the suspected offender or proceedings related to arrest (such as proceedings for the issue and execution of a warrant); or
(b) the laying of a charge against the suspected offender; or
(c) proceedings for the extradition to Australia of the suspected offender; or
(d) proceedings for remanding the suspected offender in custody or on bail.
(7) If the Attorney - General declines to grant consent, the court in which the suspected offender has been charged with the offence must permanently stay proceedings on the charge.
(8) In any proceedings, an apparently genuine document purporting to be a copy of a written consent granted by the Attorney - General in accordance with this section will be accepted, in the absence of proof to the contrary, as proof of such consent.
(9) If:
(a) a person is charged with an offence that arises under this section; but
(b) there is a country other than Australia whose jurisdiction over the alleged offence is recognised under principles of international law;
it is a defence to prove:
(c) that no corresponding offence exists under the law of the other country; or
(d) that such a corresponding offence does exist but a defence to a charge of the corresponding offence could be made out under the law of the other country.
(10) This section does not apply to an act that takes place in:
(a) the territorial waters of Norfolk Island (within the meaning of the Territorial Waters Act 1926 of Norfolk Island ); or
(b) the coastal sea (within the meaning of subsection 15B(4) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 of the Commonwealth) of any of the following Territories:
(i) the Territory of Christmas Island ;
(ii) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands ;
(iii) the Australian Antarctic Territory ;
(iv) the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands ;
(v) the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands ;
(vi) the Coral Sea Islands Territory .
(11) In this section:
"criminal act" means an act that would, if done in the Jervis Bay Territory , contravene the substantive criminal law of the Jervis Bay Territory .