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Communications Bill


Communications Bill
Part 6 — Miscellaneous and Supplemental

    344

 

           (a)           sections 11 and 14 of the London Overground Wires, etc. Act 1933

(c. xliv);

           (b)           section 7(6) of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1949

(c. lv);

           (c)           section 17(2) of the Lough Neagh and Lower Bann Drainage and

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Navigation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 (c. 15 (N.I.));

           (d)           section 17(4)(a) of the London County Council (General Powers) Act

1963 (c. xvii);

           (e)           section 7(6) of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1969

(c. lii);

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           (f)           section 20(1)(a) of the Thames Barrier and Flood Prevention Act 1972

(c. xlv);

           (g)           section 32 of and paragraph 3(2)(b) of Schedule 2 and Part 10 of

Schedule 7 to the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 (c. 53);

           (h)           section 25(1) of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 (c. 4);

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           (i)           section 5 of the London Local Authorities (No. 2) Act 1990 (c. xxx);

           (j)           paragraphs 1(c) and 16 of Schedule 2, paragraph 3(2)(c) of Schedule 4

and paragraph 21 of Schedule 7 to the Cardiff Bay Barrage Act 1993

(c. 42);

           (k)           section 3(1) of the British Waterways Act 1995 (c. i);

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           (l)           paragraphs 6(4) and 15(4) of Schedule 6 and Part 4 of Schedule 15 to the

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 (c. 61).

     (10)   This section has effect subject to section 397.

 396   Pre-consolidation amendments

     (1)    The Secretary of State may by order make such modifications of—

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           (a)           the enactments relating to the management of the radio spectrum; and

           (b)           the enactments relating to broadcasting,

            as in his opinion facilitate, or are otherwise desirable in connection with, the

consolidation of those enactments or any of them.

     (2)    No order is to be made under this section unless a Bill for repealing and re-

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enacting—

           (a)           the enactments modified by the order, or

           (b)           enactments relating to matters connected with the matters to which

enactments modified by the order relate,

             has been presented to either House of Parliament.

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     (3)    An order under this section is not to come into force until immediately before

the commencement of the Act resulting from that Bill.

     (4)    No order is to be made containing provision authorised by this section unless

a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a

resolution of each House.

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     (5)    In this section “the enactments relating to broadcasting” means—

           (a)           the 1990 Act;

           (b)           the 1996 Act;

           (c)           Part 3 of this Act; and

           (d)           the other provisions of this Act so far as relating to the 1990 Act, the

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1996 Act or that Part.

 

 

Communications Bill
Part 6 — Miscellaneous and Supplemental

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 397   Transitional provision for anticipatory carrying out of functions

     (1)    This section applies where an order under section 399 bringing into force—

           (a)           a provision of Part 1, 2 or 6, or

           (b)           a provision of Chapter 1 of Part 5,

            states that that provision is brought into force at a particular time for the

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purpose only of enabling specified networks and services functions, or

specified spectrum functions, to be carried out during the transitional period

by the Director General of Telecommunications or the Secretary of State.

     (2)    In relation to times falling in the transitional period, that provision is to have

effect as if—

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           (a)           references in that provision to OFCOM, and

           (b)           references to OFCOM inserted by that provision in any other

enactment,

            were references, in accordance with subsection (3), to the Director General of

Telecommunications or to the Secretary of State.

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     (3)    The references have effect—

           (a)           as references to the Director General of Telecommunications to the

extent that the provision is brought into force for the purpose of

enabling specified networks and services functions to be carried out;

and

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           (b)           as references to the Secretary of State, to the extent that the provision is

brought into force for the purpose of enabling specified spectrum

functions to be carried out.

     (4)    An order bringing a provision into force as mentioned in subsection (1) may

include provision specifying the extent to which it is to be taken, for the

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purposes of subsection (3), to have been brought into force for the purpose of

enabling particular functions to be carried out.

     (5)    In relation to times after the end of the transitional period for a provision which

has been brought into force for enabling specified functions to be carried out

by the Director General of Telecommunications or the Secretary of State,

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anything which—

           (a)           was done, during that period, by or in relation to that Director or the

Secretary of State, and

           (b)           was so done for the purposes of, or in connection with, the carrying out

of those functions,

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            is to have effect as if had been done by or in relation to OFCOM.

     (6)    In this section “the transitional period”, in relation to a provision brought into

force as mentioned in subsection (1) by an order under section 399, means the

period which—

           (a)           begins with the time when it is so brought into force; and

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           (b)           ends with the time from which that order, or a subsequent order under

that section, brings the provision into force for the purpose of

conferring on OFCOM the functions in question.

     (7)    In this section “networks and services functions” means any of the following

functions of OFCOM under this Act—

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           (a)           their functions under sections 21 and 22;

           (b)           their functions under Chapter 1 of Part 2;

 

 

Communications Bill
Part 6 — Miscellaneous and Supplemental

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           (c)           their functions under Chapter 3 of Part 2, except to the extent that those

functions relate to—

                  (i)                 disputes relating to rights or obligations conferred or imposed

by or under the enactments relating to the management of the

radio spectrum; or

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                  (ii)                decisions made under those enactments;

           (d)           their functions under Chapter 1 of Part 5, except to the extent that those

functions relate to broadcasting or related matters;

           (e)           their functions under Schedule 18 to this Act in relation to the abolition

of licensing (within the meaning of that Schedule).

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     (8)    In this section “spectrum functions” means—

           (a)           the functions under the enactments relating to the management of the

radio spectrum which by virtue of this Act are conferred on OFCOM;

and

           (b)           the functions conferred on OFCOM by so much of Chapter 3 of Part 2

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as relates to the disputes and decisions mentioned in subsection (7)(c).

 398   Application of enactments to territorial sea and other waters

     (1)    This section applies to—

           (a)           provision made by or under Part 2 of this Act;

           (b)           any provision of the enactments relating to the management of the

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radio spectrum that are not contained in that Part; and

           (c)           any provision of Chapter 1 of Part 5 of this Act so far as it relates to a

matter as respects which provision falling within paragraph (a) or (b) is

made.

     (2)    Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide—

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           (a)           for an area of the territorial sea to be treated, for the purposes of any

provision to which this section applies, as if it were situated in such part

of the United Kingdom as may be specified in the Order; and

           (b)           for jurisdiction with respect to questions arising in relation to the

territorial sea under any such provision to be conferred on courts in a

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part of the United Kingdom so specified.

     (3)    An Order in Council under section 11 of the Petroleum Act 1998 (c. 17)

(application of civil law to offshore installations etc.) may make provision for

treating—

           (a)           an installation with respect to which provision is made under that

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section and which is outside the territorial sea but in waters to which

that section applies, and

           (b)           waters within 500 metres of the installation,

            as if for the purposes of provisions to which this section applies, they were

situated in such part of the United Kingdom as is specified in the Order.

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     (4)    The jurisdiction conferred on a court by an Order in Council under this section

is in addition to any jurisdiction exercisable apart from this section by that or

any other court.

     (5)    Subsection (3) of section 391 applies to the power to make an Order in Council

under this section as it applies to any power of the Secretary of State to make

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an order under this Act, but as if references in that subsection to the Secretary

of State were references to Her Majesty in Council.

 

 

Communications Bill
Part 6 — Miscellaneous and Supplemental

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     (6)    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.

     (7)    In this section—

                    “installation” includes any floating structure or device maintained on a

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station or by whatever means, and installations in transit;

                    “the territorial sea” means the territorial sea adjacent to the United

Kingdom.

 399   Short title, commencement and extent

     (1)    This Act may be cited as the Communications Act 2003.

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     (2)    This Act (except the provisions listed in subsection (3), which come into force

on the passing of this Act) shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of

State may by order appoint; and different days may be appointed under this

subsection for different purposes.

     (3)    Those provisions are sections 27(1) to (4) and (6) and 394 and this section.

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     (4)    This Act extends to Northern Ireland.

     (5)    Subject to subsection (6), Her Majesty may by Order in Council extend the

provisions of this Act, with such modifications as appear to Her Majesty in

Council to be appropriate, to any of the Channel Islands or to the Isle of Man.

     (6)    Subsection (5) does not authorise the extension to any place of a provision of

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this Act so far as it gives effect to an amendment of an enactment that is not

itself capable of being extended there in exercise of a power conferred on Her

Majesty in Council.

     (7)    Subsection (3) of section 391 applies to the power to make an Order in Council

under this section as it applies to any power of the Secretary of State to make

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an order under this Act, but as if references in that subsection to the Secretary

of State were references to Her Majesty in Council.

 

 

 
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