Passports (False
Statements and Forgery) (Jersey) Law 2014
A LAW to create offences relating to
false applications for passports, and for connected purposes.
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
(1) In this
Law –
“Immigration Act” means the Immigration Act 1971 of
the United Kingdom Parliament, as it applies in Jersey by virtue of the Immigration
(Jersey) Order 1993;
“customs office” means a place for the time being
occupied by officers of the Impôts;
“document” includes a stamp or label;
“immigration officer” means an officer appointed as such
for the purposes of the Immigration Act in accordance with paragraph 1(1)
of Schedule 2 to that Act;
“items subject to legal privilege” means communications
between a professional legal adviser and client or client’s
representative, made in connection with –
(a) the
giving of legal advice to the client; or
(b) in
connection with or in contemplation of legal proceedings, for the purposes of
such proceedings,
together with items enclosed with or referred to in such
communications, except that items held with the intention of furthering a
criminal purpose are not items subject to legal privilege;
“officer”, except where otherwise specifically stated,
means an immigration officer or a police officer;
“United Kingdom passport” means a current passport
issued by –
(a) the
Government of the United Kingdom;
(b) the
Lieutenant-Governor of any of the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; or
(c) the
Government of any territory which is for the time being a British overseas
territory within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1981.
(2) In this Law, reference
to forging a passport or document means making a false passport or document
with the intention that it shall be used as genuine.
2 Offences
of dishonesty in relation to applications for passports
(1) This Article applies
where an application is made, or is purported to be made, for the purpose of
obtaining or renewing a United Kingdom passport.
(2) Where this Article
applies it is an offence if any person –
(a) knowingly
makes a false or misleading statement, or a false or misleading representation;
(b) signs
any document which the person knows to be false in a material particular or to
contain a material omission;
(c) knowingly
alters or falsifies any document;
(d) utters
a forged passport or produces or furnishes any document, or a copy of any
document, which the person knows to be false in any material particular or
forged.
(3) For the purpose of proving
that an offence under this Article has been committed, it does not matter
whether the application in question is for a United Kingdom passport for the
use of the person charged with the offence or for the use of any other person.
(4) A person guilty of an
offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of
2 years and a fine.
3 Other
offences of forgery relating to passports
(1) A person shall be
guilty of an offence if, for any purpose, the person –
(a) forges
a passport or utters a forged passport;
(b) knowingly
or recklessly purchases or receives a forged passport from any other person;
(c) knowingly
or recklessly possesses a forged passport.
(2) A person guilty of an
offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of
2 years and a fine.
4 Powers
of arrest and detention: general
(1) If an officer has
reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has committed or attempted to
commit an offence under Article 2 or 3, the officer may –
(a) detain
the person for questioning with a view to ascertaining whether or not an
offence has been committed;
(b) arrest
the person without warrant.
(2) A person detained under
paragraph (1)(a) may not be detained at a place other than a police
station or a customs office, for any continuous period lasting longer than
6 hours.
(3) Powers conferred on an
officer by this Law are additional to and shall not affect any powers which the
officer has at customary law or by virtue of any other enactment.
(4) Nothing in this Law
shall be construed as conferring on an immigration officer any
power –
(a) to
charge a person with any offence; nor
(b) to
detain a person except in accordance with this Article.
(5) The Police Procedures and
Criminal Evidence (Application to Customs and Excise) (Jersey) Order 2004 shall apply in relation to
detention or arrest of a person by an immigration officer under this Article as
it does in relation to detention or arrest of a person by the Agent of the
Impôts or an officer of the Impôts.
5 Entry
to premises and search of premises before arrest
(1) If the Bailiff is
satisfied, on an application made by an officer, that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that –
(a) an
offence under Article 2 or 3 has been committed;
(b) there
is, on premises specified in the application, material which is likely to be of
substantial value (whether by itself or together with other material) to the
investigation of such an offence;
(c) the
material is likely to be relevant evidence and does not consist of or include
items subject to legal privilege; and
(d) any
of the conditions in paragraph (2) is fulfilled,
the Bailiff may issue a warrant authorizing an officer to enter and
search the specified premises.
(2) The conditions
mentioned in paragraph (1)(d) are that –
(a) it is
not practicable to communicate with any person entitled to grant entry to the
premises;
(b) it is
practicable to communicate with a person entitled to grant entry to the
premises, but not practicable to communicate with any person entitled to grant
access to the material;
(c) entry
to the premises will not be granted unless a warrant is produced;
(d) the
purpose of a search would be frustrated or seriously prejudiced unless an
officer arriving at the premises could secure immediate entry to them.
(3) An officer may seize
and retain any material for which a search is authorized under this Article.
(4) Entry to or search of
any premises by an immigration officer under a warrant is not lawful unless it
complies with Articles 8 and 9 of this Law.
6 Entry
and search without warrant: powers of immigration officer
(1) This Article applies
where a person (“D”) –
(a) is
arrested for an offence under Article 2 or 3; or
(b) is
detained for questioning in respect of such an offence,
at a place other than a police station or a customs office.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3),
an officer may enter and search for relevant evidence any premises in which D
was when arrested or was immediately before being arrested.
(3) The power in paragraph (2)
may be exercised by an immigration officer only if a senior officer has
authorized its exercise in writing, having been satisfied that –
(a) there
are reasonable grounds to believe that there is relevant evidence on the
premises; and
(b) the
search is reasonably required for the purpose of discovering such evidence.
(4) An officer searching
premises under this Article may seize and retain any material which the officer
reasonably believes to be relevant evidence.
(5) In this
Article –
“relevant evidence” means evidence relating to the
offence in respect of which D is arrested or detained, which does not consist
of items subject to legal privilege; and
“senior officer” means an immigration officer not below
the rank of chief immigration officer.
7 Seized
material: access and copying
(1) This Article applies
where an officer has seized and retained any material under Article 5(3)
or Article 6(4).
(2) A person
who –
(a) is
the occupier of the premises where the material was seized; or
(b) had
control or custody of the material immediately before it was seized,
may request a record, photograph or copy of the material, or to have
access to the material for the purpose of photographing or copying it.
(3) An officer who receives
a request for a record of seized material must provide the record to the person
making the request within a reasonable time.
(4) An officer who receives
a request for a photograph or copy of, or for access to, seized material must,
within a reasonable time –
(a) arrange
for the person making the request to have access to the material for the
purpose of photographing or copying the material under the supervision of an
immigration officer or a police officer; or
(b) arrange
for the material to be photographed or copied, and provide the photograph or
copy to the person making the request.
(5) Nothing in this Article
imposes any duty to arrange for access to, or the supply of a photograph or
copy of, any material where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that doing
so would prejudice –
(a) the
exercise of any functions in connection with which the material was seized; or
(b) an
investigation being conducted or criminal proceedings being brought under this
Law.
8 Search
warrants: safeguards
(1) An application for a
warrant may be made by an officer ex parte
and shall be supported by an information in writing, identifying –
(a) the
premises to be entered and searched; and
(b) so
far as practicable, the material to be sought.
(2) The officer who makes
the application shall answer on oath any question asked by the Bailiff when
hearing the application.
(3) A warrant shall
authorize entry on one occasion only.
(4) A warrant shall
specify –
(a) that
it is issued under Article 5 of this Law;
(b) the
date on which it is issued;
(c) the
premises to be entered and searched;
(d) so
far as practicable, the material to be sought.
(5) A warrant may authorize
persons to accompany the officer executing it.
(6) Two copies, which must
be clearly identified as such, shall be made of a warrant issued under this
Law.
9 Execution
of warrant by immigration officer
(1) A warrant may be
executed by any immigration officer.
(2) Entry and search under
a warrant must take place –
(a) within
one month from the date of issue of the warrant;
(b) at a
reasonable hour, unless it appears to the officer executing the warrant that
compliance with this requirement would frustrate the purpose of a search
authorized by the warrant; and
(c) only
to the extent required for the purpose for which the warrant is issued.
(3) If, at the time when
the officer seeks to execute the warrant, any person is present on the premises
to which the warrant applies, the officer must –
(a) produce
identification showing that he or she is an immigration officer; and
(b) show
the person the warrant and provide the person with a copy of it.
(4) If there is no person
present on the premises who appears to the officer to be in occupation or
control of the premises, the officer shall leave a copy of the warrant
displayed in a prominent place on the premises.
(5) The officer executing
the warrant must make an endorsement on the warrant stating –
(a) whether
the material sought was found;
(b) if
so, whether any material was seized; and
(c) if
so, a description of the material.
(6) A warrant which has
been executed, or a warrant which has not been executed within the time
authorized by paragraph (2)(a) for its execution, must be returned to the
Bailiff’s Secretary.
(7) A warrant returned
under paragraph (6) shall be retained by the Bailiff’s Secretary for
12 months beginning with the date of its return; and during that period
the occupier of premises to which the warrant applies shall, on so requesting,
be permitted to inspect the warrant.
10 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Passports (False Statements and
Forgery) (Jersey) Law 2014.