Chemical Weapons Act 1996

13 Notice requiring destruction or alteration

(1) If—

(a) the Secretary of State has reasonable cause to believe that any equipment or building is a chemical weapons production facility, and

(b) at least one person falls within subsection (2),

the Secretary of State may serve on each person falling within that subsection a copy of a notice falling within subsection (3).

(2) The persons falling within this subsection are—

(a) any person who appears to the Secretary of State to occupy the land on which the equipment or building is situated,

(b) if the Secretary of State’s belief relates to equipment, any person not falling within paragraph (a) and who appears to the Secretary of State to have the equipment in his possession, and

(c) any person not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) and who appears to the Secretary of State to have an interest which the Secretary of State believes would be materially affected by the destruction or alteration of the equipment or building.

(3) A notice falling within this subsection is a notice which—

(a) describes the equipment or building and states its location;

(b) states that the Secretary of State believes the equipment or building is a chemical weapons production facility;

(c) requires the equipment or building to be destroyed or altered (as the case may be) in a manner, and before a date, specified in the notice.

(4) If a notice under this section requires any equipment or building to be altered, a further notice under this section may—

(a) revoke the first notice, and

(b) require the equipment or building to be destroyed;

and the preceding provisions of this section shall apply to the further notice accordingly.

(5) This section applies whether or not any copy of a notice has been served under section 12.