INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS (PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES) ACT 1963 - SECT 12 Protection of names etc. of international organisations

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS (PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES) ACT 1963 - SECT 12

  (1)   Except with the consent in writing of the Minister, a person (including a body corporate) shall not:

  (a)   use the name or an abbreviation of the name of an international organisation to which this Act applies in connexion with a trade, business, profession, calling or occupation; or

  (b)   use:

  (i)   a seal, emblem or device that is identical with the official seal or emblem of an international organisation to which this Act applies;

  (ii)   a seal, emblem or device so nearly resembling the official seal or emblem of such an organisation as to be capable of being mistaken for that seal or emblem; or

  (iii)   a seal, emblem or device that is capable of being taken to be the official seal or emblem of such an organisation.

Penalty:   10 penalty units.

Note:   This section does not apply in relation to the International Committee of the Red Cross (as it is not an international organisation to which this Act applies, as defined in subsection   3(1) of this Act). The use of the emblem and designation "Red Cross" is dealt with by section   15 of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 .

  (2)   Where, without the consent in writing of the Minister, the name or an abbreviation of the name of an international organisation to which this Act applies, or a seal, emblem or device referred to in paragraph   (1)(b):

  (a)   is used as, or as part of, the name, seal or emblem of an association;

  (b)   is used as, or as part of, the name or emblem of a newspaper or magazine owned by, or published by or on behalf of, an association; or

  (c)   is used by an association in connexion with any activity of the association so as to imply that the association is in any way connected with that organisation;

then:

  (d)   if the association is a body corporate--the association; or

  (e)   if the association is not a body corporate--every member of the governing body of the association;

commits an offence against this section and is punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units.

  (2A)   An offence under subsection   (2) is an offence of strict liability.

Note:   For strict liability , see section   6.1 of the Criminal Code .

  (3)   A person shall not be convicted of an offence against this section in respect of the use of an abbreviation of the name of an international organisation to which this Act applies if the use occurred in such circumstances or in relation to such matters as to be unlikely to be taken to imply any connexion with the organisation, unless the prosecution proves that the use was intended to imply such a connexion.

  (4)   The conviction of a person of an offence under this section in respect of the use of a name, abbreviation of a name, seal, emblem or device does not prevent a further conviction of that person in respect of the use of that name, abbreviation, seal, emblem or device at any time after the first - mentioned conviction.

  (5)   For the purposes of this section:

  (a)   any combination of words or letters, or of both words and letters, that is capable of being understood as referring to an international organisation to which this Act applies shall be deemed to be an abbreviation of the name of that organisation; and

  (b)   if a seal or emblem is declared by the regulations to be the official seal or emblem of an international organisation to which this Act applies, that seal or emblem shall be taken to be the official seal or emblem of that organisation.

  (6)   Proceedings under this section shall not be instituted without the consent in writing of the Attorney - General.