Sexual Offences Act 1956

PART II Supplementary

Consequential amendments

48 Amendments of Acts not consolidated

The enactments mentioned in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act shall be amended as shown in the second column of the Schedule.

49 Adaptation of enactments applying to Scotland

In Scotland—

(a) a charge of an offence under section six of this Act, or of an attempt to commit one, shall be taken into account under the proviso to section two of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922, in the same way as a charge of an offence under paragraph (1) of section five of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 ;

(b) a conviction under section thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five or thirty-six of this Act shall be taken into account under section three of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1922, in the same way as a conviction under section thirteen of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885.

50 Adaptation of enactments applying to Northern Ireland

(1) In Northern Ireland, a conviction under section thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five or thirty-six of this Act shall be taken into account under section three of the Criminal Law Amendment Act (Northern Ireland), 1923, in the same way as a conviction under section thirteen of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885.

(2) The foregoing subsection shall, for the purposes of section six of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, be deemed to have been passed before the appointed day.

51 Repeal

Subject to the following provisions of this Act, the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

52 Savings, etc.

(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect any previous enactment in its operation in relation to offences under any such enactment committed or partly committed before the commencement of this Act, or in relation to anything done before that commencement under the authority or for the purposes of any such enactment:

Provided that subsection (1) of section five of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1912, shall not apply where the First Schedule to this Act applies by virtue of subsection (2) of section thirty-five of this Act.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, and in particular to those of the Third Schedule, any reference in any document to an enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring, or as including a reference, to the corresponding provision of this Act, so far as may be necessary to prevent this Act altering the substantial effect of the document.

(3) Without prejudice to the last foregoing subsection any reference in any document to an offence under an enactment repealed by this Act, if it referred, or included a reference, to an attempt to commit an offence under such an enactment, shall be construed as referring, or as including a reference, to an attempt to commit the corresponding offence under this Act, so far as may be necessary to prevent this Act altering the substantial effect of the document.

(4) The inclusion in this Act of any express saving or amendment shall not be taken as prejudicing the operation of section thirty-eight of the Interpretation Act, 1889 (which relates to the effect of repeals).

53 Construction of references to enactments

Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to any other enactment shall be taken as referring to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment, including this Act.

54 Extent

(1) This Act shall not extend to Scotland, except section forty-nine and so much of the Third Schedule as amends the Extradition Act, 1873.

(2) This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland, except section fifty and so much of the Third Schedule as amends the Extradition Act, 1873.

55 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Sexual Offences Act, 1956.

56 Commencement

This Act shall come into force on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven.