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| Offences: general. |
41. - (1) Proceedings for an offence under section 30, 33, 37 or 38 or under regulations made under section 39 shall not be instituted in England and Wales except-
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(a) by the Secretary of State or by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State; or |
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(b) by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. |
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(2) Proceedings for an offence under section 30, 33, 37 or 38 or under regulations made under section 39 shall not be instituted in Northern Ireland except-
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(a) by the Secretary of State or by a person authorised in that behalf by the Secretary of State; or |
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(b) by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland. |
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(3) Where an offence committed by a body corporate under section 30, 33, 37 or 38 or under regulations made under section 39 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.
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(4) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (3) 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.
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(5) If an offence under section 37 or under regulations made under section 39 is committed outside the United Kingdom, proceedings for the offence may be taken, and the offence may for all incidental purposes be treated as having been committed, in any place in the United Kingdom.
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(6) Section 3 of the Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act 1878 (restriction on prosecutions) shall not apply to proceedings for an offence to which subsection (1) of this section applies.
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| Validity of Secretary of State's acts. |
42. - (1) If any person is aggrieved by any of the acts of the Secretary of State mentioned in subsection (2) and desires to question its validity on the ground that it was not within the powers of the Secretary of State or that the relevant procedural requirements had not been complied with, he may within 42 days of the day on which the act was done make an application to the court under this section.
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(2) The acts referred to in subsection (1) are-
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(a) the giving of a notice under section 29(1); |
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(b) the approval of a programme under section 32; |
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(c) the rejection of a programme under section 32; |
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(d) a determination under section 34; |
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(e) a determination under section 35; |
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(f) the giving of a notice under section 38(4). |
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(3) If on an application under this section the court is satisfied that the act in question was not within the powers of the Secretary of State or that the applicant has been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with the relevant procedural requirements, the court may quash the act.
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(4) Except as provided by this section, the validity of any of the acts of the Secretary of State referred to in subsection (1) shall not be questioned in any legal proceedings whatever.
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(5) In this section "the relevant procedural requirements"-
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(a) in relation to the giving of a notice under section 29(1), means the requirements of section 31(4); |
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(b) in relation to the approval of a programme under section 32, means the requirements of section 32(3); |
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(c) in relation to the rejection of a programme under section 32, means the requirements of section 32(4); |
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(d) in relation to a determination under section 34, means the requirements of section 34(5), (6) and (7); |
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(e) in relation to a determination under section 35, means the requirements of section 35(2); |
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(f) in relation to the giving of a notice under section 38(4), means the requirements of section 38(5). |
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(6) In this section, "the court" means-
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(a) in relation to England and Wales, the High Court; |
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(b) in relation to Scotland, the Court of Session; |
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(c) in relation to Northern Ireland, the High Court. |
| Notices. |
43. Any notice or other communication authorised or required to be given by this Part of this Act may be sent by post (but this is without prejudice to any other method of transmission).
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| Meaning of "offshore installation". |
44. - (1) In this Part of this Act, "offshore installation" means any installation which is or has been maintained, or is intended to be established, for the carrying on of any activity to which subsection (2) applies.
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(2) This subsection applies to any activity mentioned in subsection (3) which is carried on from, by means of or on an installation which is maintained in the water, or on the foreshore or other land intermittently covered with water, and is not connected with dry land by a permanent structure providing access at all times and for all purposes.
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(3) The activities referred to in subsection (2) are-
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(a) the exploitation, or the exploration with a view to exploitation, of mineral resources in or under the shore or bed of relevant waters; |
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(b) the storage of gas in or under the shore or bed of relevant waters or the recovery of gas so stored; |
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(c) the conveyance of things by means of a pipe, or system of pipes, constructed or placed on, in or under the shore or bed of relevant waters; and |
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(d) the provision of accommodation for persons who work on or from an installation which is or has been maintained, or is intended to be established, for the carrying on of an activity falling within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) or this paragraph. |
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(4) In this Part of this Act, "relevant waters" means-
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(a) tidal waters and parts of the sea in or adjacent to the United Kingdom up to the seaward limits of the territorial sea; |
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(b) waters in an area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964; and |
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(c) such inland waters as may for the time being be specified for the purposes of this paragraph by Order in Council; |
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but Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that, in such cases and subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be prescribed by the Order, this Part of this Act shall have effect as if-
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(i) any reference in this Part of this Act to relevant waters included a reference to waters in any area specified under section 10(8); and |
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(ii) in relation to an installation which is or has been maintained, or is intended to be established, in relevant waters, any reference in subsection (3) to relevant waters included a reference to waters in a foreign sector of the continental shelf which are adjacent to such waters. |
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(5) For the purposes of this section-
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"inland waters" means waters within the United Kingdom other than tidal waters and parts of the sea; |
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(a) any floating structure or device maintained on a station by whatever means; and
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(b) in such cases and subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed by Order in Council, any apparatus or works which are by virtue of section 26 to be treated as associated with a pipe or system of pipes for the purposes of Part III of this Act,
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but, subject to paragraph (b), does not include any part of a pipeline within the meaning of that section; |
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"modifications" includes additions, omissions and alterations. |
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(6) The fact that an installation has been maintained for the carrying on of an activity falling within subsection (3) shall be disregarded for the purposes of this section if, since it was so maintained, the installation-
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(a) has been outside relevant waters or, where it was so maintained in a part of a foreign sector of the continental shelf adjacent to those waters, the area consisting of those waters and that part; or |
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(b) has been maintained for the carrying on of an activity not falling within that subsection. |
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(7) Any statutory instrument containing an Order under subsection (4) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
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| Interpretation of Part IV. |
45. In this Part of this Act-
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"abandonment programme" has the meaning given by section 29; |
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"foreign sector of the continental shelf" has the meaning given by section 48(1); |
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"offshore installation" has the meaning given by section 44; |
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"relevant waters" has the meaning given by section 44(4); |
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"submarine pipeline" means a pipeline within the meaning of section 26 which is in, under or over waters in- |
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(a) the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom; or
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(b) an area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.
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