Petroleum Act 1998

10 Application of criminal law etc

(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that, in such cases and subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed by the Order, any act or omission which—

(a) takes place on, under or above an installation in waters to which this section applies or any waters within 500 metres of any such installation; and

(b) would, if taking place in any part of the United Kingdom, constitute an offence under the law in force in that part,

shall be treated for the purposes of that law as taking place in that part.

(2) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that, in such cases and subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed by the Order, a constable shall on, under or above any installation in waters to which this section applies or any waters within 500 metres of such an installation have all the powers, protection and privileges which he has in the area for which he acts as constable.

(3) Subsection (2) is without prejudice to any other enactment or rule of law affording any power, protection or privilege to constables.

(4) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence by virtue of an Order in Council under this section and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (4) shall apply in relation to acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(6) Proceedings for anything that is an offence by virtue of an Order in Council under this section may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the United Kingdom.

(7) The waters to which this section applies are—

(a) the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom;

(b) waters in an area designated under section 1(7) of the [1964 c. 29.] Continental Shelf Act 1964; or

(c) waters in an area specified under subsection (8).

(8) Her Majesty may from time to time by Order in Council specify any area which—

(a) is in a foreign sector of the continental shelf; and

(b) comprises any part of a cross-boundary field,

as an area as respects which the powers conferred by this section and section 11 are exercisable.

(9) In this section—

• “cross-boundary field” means a field that extends across the boundary between waters falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (7) and a foreign sector of the continental shelf;

• “field” means a geological structure identified as such by Order in Council under subsection (8).

(10) This section applies to installations notwithstanding that they are for the time being in transit.

(11) A statutory instrument containing an Order in Council under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.