NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION (SAFEGUARDS) ACT 1987 - SECT 67 Seizure of nuclear material etc. where required by prescribed international agreement

NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION (SAFEGUARDS) ACT 1987 - SECT 67

  (1)   Where:

  (a)   a person (in this section referred to as the relevant person ) has possession of nuclear material or an associated item; and

  (b)   Australia is, pursuant to a prescribed international agreement with another country (in this section referred to as the relevant country ), under an obligation to return or transfer the material or item to the relevant country;

the Director may:

  (c)   seize the material or item on behalf of the Commonwealth and arrange for the material or item to be dealt with in accordance with the prescribed agreement; or

  (d)   authorise an inspector, in writing, to seize the material or item on behalf of the Commonwealth and to arrange for the material or item to be dealt with in accordance with the prescribed agreement.

  (2)   Where the Director gives an authority to an inspector under subsection   ( 1), the inspector may, subject to subsection   ( 3), exercise the powers conferred by the authority.

  (3)   Where an inspector exercises a power pursuant to an authority under subsection   ( 1), the inspector shall forthwith produce the inspector's identity card for inspection by the relevant person and, if the inspector fails to do so, the inspector ceases to be authorised to exercise that power.

  (4)   Where the Director or an inspector seizes nuclear material or an associated item under subsection   ( 1) or (2), the Director shall, within 7 days after the seizure of the material or item, give notice in writing to the relevant person that the Director proposes to return or transfer the material or item to the relevant country.

  (5)   A notice under subsection   ( 4) shall include:

  (a)   a statement of the grounds on which the material or item has been seized (including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a reference to the prescribed international agreement in reliance on which the material or item has been seized);

  (b)   a statement that the relevant person may, within 14 days after receiving the notice, apply to the Minister, in writing, for the return to the relevant person of the material or item; and

  (c)   a summary of the procedures applicable under subsections   ( 7) and (8).

  (6)   Where nuclear material or an associated item is seized under subsection   ( 1) or (2) and notice is not given to the relevant person in accordance with subsections   ( 4) and (5), the Director shall, if so requested by the relevant person, return the material or item to the relevant person.

  (7)   Where:

  (a)   the period of 14 days referred to in paragraph   ( 5)(b) expires without the relevant person having applied to the Minister, in writing, for return of the material or item; or

  (b)   the relevant person applies to the Minister, in writing, within that period of 14 days for return of the material or item and the Minister rejects the application;

the Minister may, in writing, authorise the return or transfer of the material or item to the relevant country in accordance with the prescribed agreement and, where the Minister does so, property in the material or item thereupon vests in the Commonwealth.

  (8)   Where, but for this subsection, the operation of this section would result in the acquisition of property from a person otherwise than on just terms, there is payable to the person by the Commonwealth such reasonable amount of compensation as is agreed upon between the person and the Commonwealth or, failing agreement, as is determined by the Federal Court of Australia.

  (9)   In subsection   ( 8), acquisition of property and just terms have the same respective meanings as in paragraph   51(xxxi) of the Constitution.