Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

CRIMES (AVIATION) ACT 1991 - SECT 13

             (1)  A person who hijacks an aircraft is guilty of an indictable offence if any of the following applies when the hijacking is committed:

                     (a)  the aircraft is in flight, within the meaning of the Hague Convention, and the Hague Convention requires Australia to make the hijacking punishable;

                     (b)  the aircraft is engaged in a prescribed flight;

                     (c)  the aircraft is a Commonwealth aircraft;

                     (d)  the aircraft is a visiting government aircraft.

             (2)  A person who hijacks an aircraft is guilty of an indictable offence if:

                     (a)  the hijacking is committed outside Australia; and

                     (b)  the person who commits the hijacking is an Australian citizen; and

                     (c)  the aircraft would, if the Hague Convention applied, be considered to be in flight.

          (2A)  Absolute liability applies to paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) and paragraphs (2)(a), (b) and (c).

Note:          For absolute liability , see section 6.2 of the Criminal Code .

             (3)  An offence against subsection (1) or (2) is punishable on conviction by imprisonment for life.

             (4)  A person cannot be tried for an offence against subsection (1) merely because paragraph (1)(a) applies, unless Article 4 of the Hague Convention requires Australia to establish its jurisdiction over the offence.