Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CRIMES (OVERSEAS) (DECLARED FOREIGN COUNTRIES) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2004 (NO. 1) 2004 NO. 61

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 2004 No. 61

Minute No.       of 2004 - Minister for Justice and Customs

Subject -       Crimes (Overseas) Act 1964

Crimes (Overseas) (Declared Foreign Countries) Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 1)

Section 9 of the Crimes (Overseas) Act 1964 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The Act extends the criminal law of the Jervis Bay Territory extraterritorially over various groups of Australians working in foreign countries. One of these groups is Australians working in a foreign country where that foreign country has been declared by regulation to be a declared foreign country for the purposes of the Act.

Paragraph 3C(1)(b) of the Act states that the regulations may provide that a foreign country is a declared foreign country for the purposes of the Act in relation to a specified category of persons. Subsection 3C(3) provides that the regulations must specify the day on which the foreign country is to start being a declared foreign country, and the day on which the foreign country is to cease being a declared foreign country for the purposes of the Act.

The Crimes (Overseas) (Declared Foreign Countries) Regulations 2003 prescribe countries for the purposes of section 3C of the Act. Currently, Iraq and the Solomon Islands are declared foreign countries under the Act.

At the 15th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum, held on 11 December 2003, the Governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea agreed to a package of enhanced cooperation for the provision of police and other assistance by Australia to Papua New Guinea.

The purpose of the Regulations is to declare Papua New Guinea to be a declared foreign country for the purposes of the Act from the date of gazettal and ceasing at the end of 30 June 2008.

The Regulations apply the Act to a person in relation to an act or omission if the person is an Australian undertaking a task or project or performing a function on behalf of the Commonwealth, or pursuant to commitments or directions given by or on terms determined by the Commonwealth in Papua New Guinea where that person is a designated person. 'Designated person' is defined as a person who is deployed to Papua New Guinea as part of the package of enhanced cooperation and whose name is notified by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

The Regulations specify that the declaration of Papua New Guinea would take effect on the date of gazettal. The declaration ceases on 30 June 2008, which is the likely end date of the planned civilian deployment in Papua New Guinea.

Subsection 3C(4) of the Act provides that before regulations are made for the purposes of subsection 3C(1), the Minister, after consulting the Minister for Foreign Affairs, must be

satisfied that it is appropriate to do so having regard to whether this Act would apply to Australians in the foreign country even if the regulations were not made, the nature of the activities engaged in by Australians in the foreign country, the number of Australians likely to be engaging in those activities, the circumstances in which Australians engaging in activities in the foreign country are subject to or immune from the foreign country's criminal laws, and any other relevant matter.

The Minister was satisfied that it was appropriate to make the Regulations having regard to these factors. The Minister consulted the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who supported the making of the Regulations.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 names the Regulations.

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 to the Regulations amends the Crimes (Overseas) (Declared Foreign Countries) Regulations 2003.

Schedule 1 declares Papua New Guinea to be a declared foreign country for the purposes of the Act, in relation to designated persons from the date of gazettal- 30 June 2008.

Authority: Section 9 of the Crimes (Overseas) Act 1964


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